


Bulletproof Heart

by conventionalweapons (aconventionalweapon)



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Ghosts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-18 05:43:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 32,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5900506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aconventionalweapon/pseuds/conventionalweapons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you've seen the movie The Invisible, then you know what is going on here. </p><p>Sometimes things don't always have to end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It can happen to anyone. Whether you're in a car accident, flying on a plane, or hell even just walking into your own home! It doesn't matter where you are it can happen. People die, it's inevitable…I know that, but when it steals someone too early in life, you have to wonder…what did they do to deserve this? Well this is what I'm asking myself at this moment as I stand in front of his casket. My best friend was killed a week ago, no he was murdered a week ago. The worst part is the sick bastard got away with it. I was the last one standing here, staring at his paled face, the tattoos reminding me of the days he dragged me into that shop to watch a needle permanently stain his skin over and over again. I remembered how I shuddered at the mere sight of a needle but he sat there smiling. That smile was never to be seen again, except in photographs of which there were hardly any and even then they never did his smile justice. His mother had most of them…speaking of her, she never even came. She's probably passed out, drunk on the couch, not even remembering that her son was being buried in the ground. I don't think she wanted to remember, just like I didn't want to remember how I'd tried to save him but in the end I'd still lost him. The memory of that day played in my brain like a home movie. 

_I'd just called him and asked him to meet me at the nearby park because I needed someone to talk to. Of course he'd said yes, he was the only one who cared apart from my younger brother Mikey. I had shouted to my mom that I'd be back in a while then quickly ran out of the house before she could respond. I pulled my hood up as I walked down the sidewalk towards the park, enjoying the cool night air. The park wasn't that far of a walk and I'd easily be there in five minutes. He was probably already there, sitting on picnic table with his head in his hands, black hair falling over his hands. I smiled at the image in my head and picked up the pace, not wanting to make him sit there any longer by himself._

_"HEY GERARD!" I cringed when I recognized the voice. This girl that lived down the road had always liked me and she was creepy about it. She even stole my underwear from the gym lockers. I turned and waved to her and she giggled hysterically then ran up to me and threw her arms around my waist._

_"Hey look I gotta go my friend is waiting for me." I grabbed her arms and pried them off my waist._

_"But Gerard! I want to hang with you!" She latched back on._

_"Maybe tomorrow but I gotta go!"_

_"Really!?" I regretted saying that instantly and groaned._

_"Will you let go of me if I say yes?"_

_"YES!" She said eagerly._

_"Ugh….fine…" I rolled my eyes and she squealed then quickly released me and I broke out into a run towards the park. As I neared the back part of the park I heard harsh voices and quickly got behind the nearest tree._

_"I…didn't…do…anything…" I recognized my friend's familiar voice but it sounded like he was out of breath._

_"DON'T LIE TO ME! You sold me out to the cops! ADMIT IT!" Another voice growled. I stepped out from behind the tree to interfere and that's when I noticed that he was lying on the ground, a large man straddling him with one hand clasped around his neck and the other holding a gun to the side of his head. I went into panic mode and froze up, watching his hands claw at the hand on his neck and his body squirm as he tried to get free._

_"I…didn't…sell you…out." He choked out from under the hand. I heard the click as the man readied the gun to shoot. I didn't hesitate now as I ran towards the guy and tackled him from behind. My body was pumped with too much adrenaline to think the entire situation through though, especially the fact that the guy was about a hundred pounds heavier than me and running into him felt like running into a brick wall. In a matter of seconds he had flipped me on the ground and given me a swift punch to the face and I blacked out._

_I slowly opened my eyes, my left one feeling particularly heavy. I sat up carefully, not knowing what other damage I had sustained. I put my left hand down on the wet grass and then looked around me. There was no one. The guy and my friend were gone, but where? I pushed myself up and brushed my hands off on my jeans. When my left hand brushed against the denim of my jeans, it felt sticky. I turned my hand over and looked at it. The palm of my hand was tinged red and in the spaces between my fingers there were droplets of dried blood. My heart started pounding as I stared at it. I turned to look at the ground where I had placed my hand and nearly fainted at the large patch of blood stained grass. My eyes then followed the blood as it spread in a path down the grass towards the tree line. I started running towards the trees. "WHERE ARE YOU!?" I shouted loudly, tears pouring down my face. "Please! Please be okay!" I reached the edge of the trees and froze when I saw the white tip of Converse sneakers. I couldn't move, I stayed there frozen. I didn't want to see what lay on the other side of the tree. My legs were stiff, my right hand grasping on to the bark of the tree. "Please no…" I choked out. I waited for a response telling me he was alive but there was none. "Please…please answer me…" I stood there crying until I had enough guts to walk around the tree._

_I really wish I hadn't…the image of my best friend lying there on the ground, blood soaking the grass and his clothes, eyes open in terror, his hair wildly laid out around him like he'd been thrown to the ground. My knees crumpled and I had to literally crawl over to his side. I touched his hand with the tips of my fingers and his icy flesh told me he'd been gone for at least an hour. I broke down, I couldn't hold myself up. I lay in the grass, my clothes soaking up the blood. I didn't move for hours, I just laid there next to him, crying silently to myself. I laid there until morning came, until a passerby noticed us lying here, until an ambulance arrived, and all the way up until the cops forced me onto my feet, dragging me into the back of the ambulance. I started screaming and shouting at them. "DON'T LEAVE HIM! DON'T! LET ME GO! HE NEEDS ME!" I cried my eyes out, flailing wildly._

_"HE'S GONE KID!" A cop shouted at me and I glared at him._

_"NO! DON'T! DON'T LEAVE HIM!" I cried my eyes out, my limbs going limp in the paramedic's arms. "I-I can't leave him…I-I can't…" They gave me a sedative and my body quickly relaxed further and I could only stare at the ceiling of the ambulance as it flew down the road. I closed my eyes and kept them so until two days later._

"Why couldn't it have been me?" I growled under my breath, tears staining my skin. "Why him? What did he do wrong?" He shouldn't be dead, I should. He didn't have problems, I was the messed up one. I bent over the casket, knees crumpling underneath me. 

"Hey kid, it's not your fault you know? Things happen and I doubt your friend would want you to blame yourself." I looked up to see a weathered old man kneeling next to me. "Be strong." He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"How can I be strong…my best friend was killed because I tried to save him." I choked up and fought back loud sobs. 

"You don't know that. You can be strong by telling him goodbye and that you'll never forget him. You have to keep moving though, just because his life has ended doesn't mean yours has to end too." My heart clenched and I could feel the anger building up inside of me. 

"You want me to say goodbye…HOW THE HELL CAN I EVER SAY GOODBYE!? I WON'T! I won't leave him, not ever." I snapped and the old man stood up slowly. 

"You'll learn soon enough that giving up is sometimes the best thing you can do for those who have passed on." The man turned and walked away. I watched him leave the graveyard and disappear around the corner. I turned back to the coffin and trailed my fingers along the wood until they lightly touched the cold metal plate in the center. The small gold plate was elegantly designed, the letters in the center curled beautifully. There was nothing beautiful about this though…this was a nameplate…signifying death…it wasn't beautiful, only the name the letters spelled out was. Frank Iero.


	2. Chapter 2

I slowly moved my eyes up to stare at his face again. Eyes closed, hair brushed to the side, and his mouth frowning almost. He didn't deserve to die this way, he didn't deserve this. I didn't hesitate putting my hand on top of his icy cold ones, folded across his stomach. I gripped his hand, holding it one last time. I could swear he was squeezing my hand back but it was just the rigor that had set in a week ago. The coroner had done his best to close the wound on the left side of his forehead, but the bullet hole was still there, still visible, no matter how much they tried to cover it with his hair. I leaned and hugged him again, pressing my cheek against his chest. I could feel the v-shaped cuts the coroner had cut his flesh in. I shuddered and pulled away. 

"I'm so sorry Frankie...I'm so sorry." I took a deep breath and looked him over again, engraving every detail of his features into my brain. I would never forget him. Never. I wiped my eyes and turned away from the casket and slowly walked out of the graveyard, vaguely aware of the sound of people shouting orders about lowering it into the grave. I didn't say it. I couldn't say it...goodbye...that was the one thing I would never say to Frank. 

** 1 Year Later. **

"GERARD WAY!" My head shot up off my desk and met the angry face of my second hour English teacher. "Sleeping in class again? Gerard this is the fourth time in a row and I'm not going to be lenient any more. It's been a year so stop this moping and focus." The teacher turned and walked to the front of the class. After sitting through five minutes of his lecture I passed out again. I woke up to the sound of the bell and gathered my things and headed out into the hallway. 

"HEY! FAG!" I cringed at the sound of the all too familiar voice, increasing my walking pace by double to try and avoid the worst part of my day. "HEY IM TALKING TO YOU!" A hand grabbed my shoulder and squeezed then swung me around face first into the lockers. Damn. I could hear the snickers from the bully's friends. The hand flipped me around and grabbed my neck. "What? Not fighting back today? Too sad to? Still moping over your stupid boyfriend?" He made a pouting face. 

"He...wasn't...my...boyfriend..." I choked out.

"Yeah sure he wasn't fag." The burly red headed teen spat, yanking my hair back. "Well I got news for you fag. He's dead. D.E.A.D. They buried his pathetic ass." The group behind him let out nervous chuckles. "Gone, finito!" He continued on. "Good thing too cause if someone didn't kill him I would have done so myself. One less fag in the world." He laughed and slapped me across the face. "Hey you spacing out on me?" He growled and grabbed my chin in his hand to force me to look at his ugly face. I'd had enough. I clenched my fist and did something that no sane high school outcast would normally do, and I don't recommend it, especially when you're surrounded by the bully's friends. I pulled back my arm and punched him in the face. His friends all looked at me, stunned at what I had just done. Jack, the lead asshole, released his grip on my neck and I shot out to the right and ran down the hall to the safety of my next class. I burst into the nearly empty classroom and took a deep breath, my throat aching as I did.

"Gerard...what happened this time?" My brother's quiet voice emanated from behind me. I jumped slightly, like I always did. He just had a habit of being way too quiet when he approaches. 

"Damn it. You're gonna give me a heart attack one day." I grumbled. 

"Gerard stop avoiding the question. What happened?" He folded his arms and stared into my eyes. 

"I punched Jack in the face." I said calmly as I took my seat at the back of the class. Mikey sat down next to me on the left, the right chair was always respectfully held open because...that's where he used to sit. 

"Why'd you punch him Gerard?! He's gonna kill us both now!" Mikey sighed. He had kicked Jack in the gut on accident when Jack stumbled and fell in front of Mikey during laps. We were both dead men.

"He disrespected Frank." I snapped. "What was I supposed to do?! Let him get away with it?!" Mikey just shook his head. 

"Gerard it's been a year...you need to let go..." I stared wide eyed at him. Mikey knew Frank before I did and Mikey would always complain about not getting to see Frank enough cause I had "stolen him." I could hardly believe that he had just "let go" of his best friend. 

"I can't believe you of all people would give him up so easily." I slammed my textbook shut, disturbing the class. 

"Gerard calm down please." Mikey said quietly. 

"Calm down?! How can I calm down when my life has gone to hell in record time!?" I stood up, frustrated, and started repacking my book and notebook into my bag. 

"Gerard hold on where are you going now?" Mikey sighed and rubbed his eyes, his glasses resting on the end of his nose and hair sticking out the bottom of his dark grey beanie. 

"Does it matter?" I growled and he just sighed and shook his head. Mikey knew all too well that I wouldn't listen anytime soon. 

"Gerard Way. Where are you going?" Mrs. Ditallo asked quietly from the front of the class. 

"I'm going to go visit a friend." I replied and she nodded. She knew what it was like to lose someone and how much it hurt. She quit working for three years when her daughter was killed and now she pretty much just let me leave whenever because she knew I would not be reasoned with. 

"Gerard let me write you a pass to go to the nurse and get sent home." I nodded at her.

"Mrs. Ditallo how is that fair?! Why does he always get to leave but no one else is allowed?" The captain of the cheerleading team was such a bitch sometimes. She turned and look at me, crossing her slender arms over her all too thin frame. Of course she was also dating the asshole I had just punched in the hall.

"Sit down Courtney." Ditallo glared at her.

"It's not fair though and I'm pretty sure that everyone in here agrees. I bet even Michael agrees." 

"Mikey." I growled at her. "Just sit down bitch. I already punched your boyfriend and I really don't feel like hitting a girl." Her mouth dropped and pretty much everyone gasped. 

"Gerard, watch your language please." Ditallo said under her breath. I just turned and walked out of her room, ensuring that I slammed the door shut behind me. I didn't want to be there anymore, hall pass or not I'm ditching school. I headed towards the parking lot and climbed into my car, pulling out of the parking lot past a couple of disappointed looking security guards. I drove for what seemed like forever but in reality had only been twenty minutes. I didn't even know where I was going and I didn't care. Something in the back of my mind must have led me here though. I slowly got out of my car and just stood by the door, staring at the expanse of grass before me, trees lining it. I took a deep breath, tears already tugging at the corners of my eyes, and walked into the park, into the last place Frank had been seen alive.


	3. Chapter 3

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

I walked through the park towards the single picnic bench along the trees. I froze a good ten feet away from it, staring at it as if it was going to kill me. Just looking at it was hard enough. Frank had sat here so many times waiting for me and he would always have his head in his hands, hair draped over the back of his fingers. It's like I could see him sitting there now, head in hands and sighing to himself. I took a step forward and he looked up at me and smiled. I shook my head and the vision faded. It hurt more than anyone could know. I hesitated then gently ran my fingers against the wood grains of the table. A tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away. My heart started pounding as images of that night flashed through my head, causing a downpour of tears. 

"Hey? You alright?" I quickly brushed the tears from my cheeks and turned my head to see a little boy standing there. I smiled at him quickly and nodded. He smiled back and then ran off the other direction, I turned my face towards the sky and just closed my eyes, taking deep breaths. When I lowered my head I looked to my right and shuddered as I saw the large, familiar tree. I had stood behind it, not wanting to see Frank lying there on the ground, but the image was now forever engraved in my mind. I stepped up on the seat of the picnic table then turned and sat on the actual tabletop itself. I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands, much like Frank had always done. It comforted me in some weird way, whenever I sat here in his spot, I felt like he was still here. It always felt like he was sitting beside me and sometimes it was as if I could feel this cold breeze on my right side, but the left would be warm. I wished it was him, I wished that I could actually believe that people's spirits lingered here long after they passed, but I didn't. I didn't want to think that he was stuck here and couldn't move on. It's my fault too…if I hadn't interrupted then maybe he would still be here, still sitting on the picnic table waiting for me to show up. 

"Gerard." I recognized the voice instantly and felt the picnic table move as he took as seat beside me. "You okay?" 

"No. You always ask me if I'm okay but the answer is still the same." I picked my head up and looked at Mikey. He was looking out across the grass expanse, glasses resting near the end of his nose. 

"I know the answer is always the same, but I'll never stop asking." He whispered. 

"Why?" I sat straight up and looked at him and he turned his head to look at me. 

"Because you're my brother and…and I keep hoping that one day you'll go back to being yourself." He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. Not myself? Of course I haven't been myself! I'd lost my best friend! I didn't think it was affecting anyone else though. I tried to act normal at home and I thought I'd done pretty well.

"Gee, we used to hang out together all the time and now it's like I barely know you! You disappear into your room as soon as you get home and half the time you don't even come home, you just come here. You don't talk to me anymore either, just casual conversations at the dinner table on rare occasion. I don't know what to do anymore, I just want my brother back." I saw a tear slip down his cheek and I was quick to pull him into a tight hug. He just leaned into me and cried. "I miss my brother Gee, I just need him back." I buried my face in his hair and listened to him sob. I didn't know what to say, cause I didn't know if I would ever personally be the Gerard Way I had supposedly left behind. 

[??? P.O.V.]

It was hard enough. Hard enough that I had to sit here and watch him beat himself up day after day, hard enough that I couldn't do anything but sit beside him and pretend that my presence was offering some sort of comfort, but now it was all too hard to watch him struggle to comfort his brother when I knew he himself couldn't relax even for a moment. It was all too hard. And it was all my fault. I got up off the bench, knowing the movement would cause a cold breeze to tickle his skin. I watched the goose bumps rise up on his arms as he held his brother close, I watched his eyes stare blankly at the field, and I watched a silent tear run down his already tear stained cheeks. I wanted nothing more than to brush the tear away and tell him everything was alright, but it wasn't. Because though he sat there completely broken, at least he was alive. I let my head fall forward and I started towards the tree line, feeling the invisible ties draw me back to my place. Gerard was alive and I was no longer a part of that world. I drug my fingers across the bark of the tree, hearing the cracking of pieces of bark but knowing that even if someone else were standing right there they wouldn't have heard or seen a thing. This was my curse, but it was the only thing keeping me close to him. 

[Gerard's P.O.V.] 

I felt a slight breeze against my exposed side, shivering at the sudden temperature drop. I picked my head up and looked around, somewhere deep inside I was praying I would see a short kid, with a black faux-hawk and deep red fringe, walking away from me. There was nothing though, just the quick breeze. I turned back to Mikey and his eyes were looking questioningly at mine. I didn't want him to think I was crazy, but I gave in to the face he was making, which was a combination of a puppy dog look and a 'I'll kill you if you don't tell me' look. 

"I keep feeling like there's this presence wherever I go and I-I keep hoping that its Frank." I sighed, it felt good that someone finally knew what I'd been thinking for a year now. Mikey just stared at me for a moment before looking down and sighing.

"Gerard, do you really want it to be Frank though? Do you really want to think that he is still stuck here?" Mikey was right. I knew that and I shook my head no. 

"I don't want to think that he's stuck and unhappy, but at the same time…I just can't let him go Mikey." I choke out. Mikey rubbed my back and we sat there in silence for an hour at least.

"Gee, I'm gonna go home now. You coming?" Mikey got up off the table and stepped down off the bench.

"Nah, I'm going to stay here for a bit…calm down a little more. I'll be home in a couple hours at most." Mikey nodded, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans. 

"We'll I guess I'll see you at dinner then." He turned and headed towards the parking lot. I watched him disappear into his car before I got up off the table, lingering beside it for a moment before turning my gaze to the large oak standing silently at the edge of the woods. It was quiet in the park and I turned to notice that everyone had left, lights were flickering on at the other end. I turned back to the tree and started to slowly make my way over to it. I stroked the bark of the tree and then took a deep breath and walked around the tree and froze. There was a rectangular patch of dirt where crime scene investigators had dug in search of evidence. Frank's body had lain in that spot, cold and unmoving. I hated myself for not being able to help him. What had his last moments been like? What was running through his head as he lay dying? Did he hate me…for not helping or for getting him killed…I hated myself so why shouldn't he? I sat down beside the dirt patch and closed my eyes, leaning against the tree. 

[???'s P.O.V.]

It pained me to watch Gerard walk slowly up to the tree, sadness overwhelming his features. It pained me even more though to watch him stare at the patch of dirt where my body had lain a year ago. I remembered that night clearly. I, Frank Iero, was waiting for Gerard in the park as usual. I sat down on top of the picnic table like I always did. "Gee'll be here any minute." I had said to myself. My vision suddenly flickered and I jumped when I found myself staring at…myself? I shook my head in realization though, it'd happened again. I would sometimes randomly jump back to the past, mainly to the night I'd lost my life. I sighed and went to walk the other way, not wanting to re-experience my death, but something stopped me this time. A shiny silver object reflected as I had taken a step away from the soon-to-be-dirt patch of grass. I turned to see what it was and my metaphorical heart sank.


	4. Chapter 4

[Frank's P.O.V.]

It was a gun, a shiny silver gun. Images flashed across my vision. Me screaming, a gun being pressed against my head, and the temporary ringing in my ear from the sound of it. There it was. I was staring at the very instrument used to end my life. I heard shouting and I turned around to see a man dressed in a dark colored hoodie and jeans, hands in his pockets, walking towards…uh…me. I watched myself look up when the man approached me. I smiled at the guy. What the fuck? Did I know him? I don't remember ever knowing a guy in their late thirties or early forties. I watched the smile fade from my face and the man grabbed my shirt, it was almost as if I could feel his hand on me. He yanked me off the bench and started shouting at my past self. I realized I couldn't understand a word he was saying, like he was speaking a foreign language.

"I…didn't…do…anything!" I heard my voice choked out. I felt the man's hands on my throat, squeezing tighter. 

"RUN FRANK! RUN!" I shouted at myself though I knew my past self couldn't hear me. I watched as I was being choked. The man using his hold to push me towards where I was standing. I vaguely remembered what happened next. He hit me in the head and my past self blacked out, my head throbbed as if I was at the receiving end. I was feeling all of my past self's emotions and pain. I watched my eyes flicker open right as the man leaned down before me and picked up the gun. I watched the scene unfold before me, like living your worst nightmare over and over again. Something behind my attacker and past self caught my attention. A body lay there, clothed in a dark hoodie and snug fitting jeans. A mess of black hair lay around his head. "GERARD!" I ran over to him, rolling him on his back. His left eyes was swollen and he was completely knocked out. When had Gee even gotten here in the first place? I heard myself scream and I turned to see the man shove me on the ground in the spot where I'd later be pronounced dead. I looked at Gee then to the man. Gerard was still alive but I was about to die. I ran over to myself and got behind me. I slipped my arms under my past self's arms and started yanking him backwards. His eyes turned up and he looked at me. The action caused me to freeze in shock. 

**_BANG!_** My heart dropped when my past self slumped on the ground, blood pouring out of the wound on the left side of his/my face. I'd just watched myself get shot. The man was looming over my body and I looked up to see if I knew him, but his face was blurry, like he was fading away. The man put his hands on his head and let loose a string of profanities. There was a tattoo on his hand, a vine wrapping around his thumb and up to his wrist. The world started blurring right when the man took off running. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them, Gerard was sitting against the oak tree, eyes closed. He was fast asleep but I could tell he was having a fitful dream by the way his nose was scrunched up and his head moved jerkily. I sat down beside him and sighed. What was Gerard doing? How had he ended up out cold at the park? I remembered blacking out though so maybe I couldn't remember because I didn't see what had happened. I heard Gerard sigh loudly beside me. He was shivering, probably because of me. 

"Gerard, go home. Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow." I shook his shoulder, knowing he wasn't feeling anything. It was weird…I could see myself move objects, break things, and have people react to me, but when I looked away then turned back, everything was in order again and it was as if nothing happened. The only things that could see and hear me were animals.

"Mmph…okay Frankie…one more minute." I stared at Gerard wondering for a brief moment whether he'd actually heard me or he was just dreaming. 

"Gerard? Can you hear me?" I whispered near his ear but he didn't move. "GERARD!" I shouted loudly and he suddenly shot upright, eyes wide open and reeling.

"Who-who's there?" He said shakily. I put my hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes. 

"You heard me? GEE! Did you hear that? Please say yes!" I was bursting at the seams with excitement, but when Gerard got up and started hurrying away my body filled with sadness. I stood up slowly and sighed before walking after him. I'd been following him for ten out of the twelve months I'd been dead. Today was in fact the one year mark. The first of many anniversaries of my death. Gerard got in his car and I grabbed the door handle of the passenger door and opened it and got it. Gee probably didn't see the door open because only I saw what I did, an annoying factor of being dead. Gerard turned the heat on and then started blasting the Misfits, bringing back many memories of sitting in Gee's room with him and Mikey, discussing the pros and cons of being a vampire. I giggled at the memory and suddenly the car slammed to a stop and my face met the dashboard. I sat up and looked at Gee, feeling no pain cause I'm already dead. He looked like he was going to have a heart attack. He looked around the car frantically then took a deep breath. 

"Chill out Gerard, you're going to give yourself a heart attack, but I swore I heard-" He slapped himself and shook his head. Then, with a fierce scowl, he drove again. I made noises the whole way, seeing if he'd react but he didn't. He got out of the car after parking in the driveway and angrily slammed the door behind him. I got out and slammed the door shut just to make him jump but it didn't work. Gee went inside and shut the door in my face…literally. Second time today my face had made a new friend. 

"Asshole." I smirked and opened the door and followed Gerard to his room. He flopped down on the bed face first and moaned. Then he sat up and started undressing. I quickly turned and left the room, respecting his privacy even though he couldn't see me. I went to Mikey's room and found him silently reading. I sat down on his bed beside him and looked around the familiar room. The Way brothers hadn't changed a bit on the outside. My eyes landed on a white guitar neck, sticking out from behind a pile of boxes. I went over and picked it up, sliding the guitar out from its hiding place. PANSY was spelled out on the guitar and I dropped it, starting to hyperventilate. I hadn't seen that guitar in years because my dad had taken it from me saying I didn't deserve such nice things. What was it doing here? 

"Who's there?" I turned to see Mikey sitting straight up and down on the edge of his bed, eyes wide as he stared in my general direction. I picked the guitar up and dropped it again, knowing he probably wasn't seeing or hearing any of this, but when the guitar hit the ground again he yelped. "F-Frank? G-Gerard said he was hearing things and now I am…" Mikey shook his head as if that would help. I just waited to see what he was doing next. He just sat there for the longest time though and I was ready to walk out the door when he started talking again. "Frank…if that's you…make two more noises…" He looked around his room as if he was going to see something move or someone pop up out of nowhere and yell "got yah!" I looked around for something to throw and I ended up picking his desk chair up as much as I could and throwing it against the wall and then throwing his backpack against the opposite wall. He didn't make a sound but he never once looked in the direction of where I was throwing the objects so he clearly hadn't seen any of that happen. A smile appeared on his face suddenly and I was a little scared by it. "You're actually here! Don't-don't go anywhere! Give me one second!" I watched him jump up off his bed and run to his closet and start digging through it. Shirts and pants were flying left and right. He leaned down and picked something up and then turned around. He had some weird board in his hands. I watched him as he took it to the center of his room and sat down on the floor with it. I walked over to him and looked at the board and recognized it from movies. A Ouija board.


	5. Chapter 5

[Frank's P.O.V.]

"Seriously Mikes? Where the hell did you get that thing?" I sighed and sat down across from him, admitting to myself that I was very curious if it would work. 

"Okay, just to make sure…who's here?" Mikey watched the pointer intently. 

"Aren't you supposed to put your fingers on it?" I sighed and grabbed the pointer, not knowing if he could see it moving or not. I started moving the pointer to the 'F' and he jumped and let loose a small squeak before clamping his hand over his mouth. "You can see it moving? SWEET!" I moved the pointer faster and stopped it on 'F.' 

"Mikey! Are you okay?!" I jumped when the sudden voice emanated from the doorway. I'm the ghost yet Gerard just scared the shit out of two people at once, I hadn't been nearly as successful. Believe I've tried because I mean come on who wouldn't want to try if they were a ghost? Plus, it got boring just standing around after a while. Mikey jumped up and shut the door behind Gerard and locked it, then grabbed Gee's arm and pulled him over to the board. 

"Sit." Mikey demanded and Gerard shot him a questioning glance before sitting down on my right, his left knee actually going through mine. I shuddered and so did he. Whoa…weird…this was the first time something was going through my skin. 

"Mikey is this- is this an Ouija board? What the hell are you doing with it?" 

"I just heard a whole bunch of weird noises and I've had it for a while and there's only one thing you do with an Ouija board and that's contact the dead." Gee's eyes were wide as he stared at his brother. 

"Thought you were all adamant about letting go?" I sensed an argument bubbling up.

"OH JUST SHUT UP AND WATCH!" I shouted and the pointer started spinning wildly just as I felt this weird electric shock pass through me. The lights flickered and I gasped right as they stopped. The pointer stopped moving and Gee and Mikey were staring wide-eyed, jaws dropped. Gee looked to Mikey and Mikey to Gee. 

"Okay so how does this thing work?" Gee said hurriedly. 

"Uh…just-just ask questions I guess. They have to be simple enough to answer in one or two words though." Mikey gulped. "So, uh, same question. Who's here?" I hesitantly put my fingers on the pointer again and started moving it to the 'F.'

"F-R-A-N-K." Gee breathed as I spelled out my name. The brothers looked at each other and tears started to slide down their cheeks even though they looked terrified. 

"I-Iero?" Mikey choked. They were scared, I could tell. 'Ten points for Gryffindor' popped into my head. I shook my head, no it's not funny. They were genuinely frightened of there being a ghost in the room with them. I looked at the board and located 'yes' spelled out in the bottom left hand corner. I moved the pointer towards it and stopped once I reached it. I heard both Gee and Mikey suck in breaths as it stopped. "So…so you're really here? You're still here. Oh my god Gee…you were right." I looked at Gerard and he looked like he had just had a knife stuck through him, all the pain he probably felt was displayed on his face. I had to say something to him so I hurriedly started spelling out a sentence. "Gee grab that notepad and pen right there." Mikey said as he stared intently on the pointer. I waited until he was ready and I started moving it to the letters I needed. 

"N-O-T-Y-O-U-R-F-A-U-L-T." Gee said each letter then looked at Mikey. "Not your fault." I could tell that he had gotten the message because a gush of tears poured down his cheeks. I moved the pointer again. "D-O-N-T-C-R-Y." It worked the opposite for me though cause he cried more. I sighed and I wished I could just slap him and then tell him everything is alright. 

"F-Frank, do-do you k-know who k-killed you?" Mikey stuttered between quiet sobs. I sighed and wished I could tell them that a man in a hoodie with a vine tattoo on his hand did it but I didn't want them to go out and start searching. I moved the pointer to the 'no' at the bottom right hand of the board. Mikey sighed and Gerard started taking deep breaths and wiping away tears. I put my hand on his shoulder and he froze up and looked at his shoulder like it was diseased. 

"D-did you just touch me?" Gee asked silently and I quickly answered by moving the pointer to the 'yes.' He was really riled up by that and his tears quickly started to dissipate. "Was that…was that your laugh I heard in the car?" Mikey looked at Gerard when he asked the question and Gee just glanced at him before watching the pointer. I moved the pointer on the 'yes' again. I felt like I was stupid and didn't know how to answer properly but this is just how it worked. Gee smiled slightly at that. "M-I-S-F-I-T-S." I spelled out, telling him I knew what he was playing on his stereo in the car too. He smiled even wider at that. Mikey looked at him questioningly. "I was playing the Misfits in the car on the way home, guess Frankie was in the car with me." They both smiled and I was glad that I could get them to be happy for a bit. I looked to the white guitar and looked to Mikey and decided to ask about it, even though normally the people asked the ghost questions and not the other way around. "P-A-N-S-Y." Mikey and Gee looked to the white guitar in the corner. "Yeah Pansy is here. You're mom gave it to us after you-you…passed away." I regretted asking instantly by the look on Gee's face. I had to know more though. "D-A-D-T-O-O-K-I-T." Gee looked at Mikey and Mikey just shrugged. 

"I guess he gave it back to her? I dunno Frank. Hey…I have to know. What's it like being a ghost?" I laughed because of course Mikey would ask that question and they both jumped and looked around the room. "WE JUST HEARD YOU LAUGH!" He said happily. I grabbed the pointer and started moving it again. "B-O-R-I-N-G." I spelled out and they both laughed at my reply. 

"You of all people would find being a ghost boring Frankie. Come on you had to have scared the living daylights out of someone and laughed it off." I smirked at Gerard and then grabbed the pointer. "O-N-L-Y-Y-O-U." I grinned as his face dropped and he looked like he was trying to remember. "C-A-R-A-N-D-P-A-R-K." His face brightened in realization. "Oh yeah right, I freaked out!" I sat there and answered some more of their questions, nothing too important though. I was about to answer another when it felt like someone was tugging at my shirt and I turned to see the little boy from earlier standing in the room behind me. His name was Jack, he'd died thirty years ago when his own mother couldn't handle taking care of her children, she'd decided to just kill them all. 

"It's time to go back." He said quietly and I sighed and nodded. I grabbed the pointer and started hurriedly spelling out a sentence. 

"G-O-T-T-O-G-O-S-E-E-Y-O-U-T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W." I said and stood up and grabbed the little boy's hand. He'd become like a sibling to me and I felt I was obliged to take care of him after his mother had failed to do so. He was so young and looked so fragile, but when you saw his right eye you would think otherwise. There wasn't an eye there, just a huge hole in his head where his mother had taken the shotgun to his skull. Mikey and Gerard looked visibly upset but they didn't protest. I turned and walked over to the window and opened it. Jack climbed out and I followed suit and then we both jumped to the ground, not worrying about breaking anything cause there was nothing to break. We walked quietly to the park and sat down on two of the swings. Jack loved to play with the other kids here and he'd somehow learned how to make himself visible and audible to the living. He didn't know how he did it though, he just did and I envied him for it. I sighed and swung slowly on the swing, just thinking about much it sucked to be dead.


	6. Chapter 6

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

I sat on the floor and stared at Mikey, the Ouija board lying quietly between us. 

"See you tomorrow?" Mikey said questioningly and I just shrugged. 

"Maybe he meant at the park? I always go to the park after school and now that I think about it…I always feel this cold breeze whenever I sit down on the table." Mikey was the first to stand and he hesitantly picked the board up off the ground and returned it to his closet. 

"Gerard…" The way Mikey's voice dropped sent shivers through my spine. He turned around and a silent stream of tears was making it's way down his cheeks. My heart sank and I walked up to him and hugged him tightly. I knew what he was thinking just by the way he clutched the fabric of my hoodie. "I-I'm h-happy that we could t-talk with h-him, but that means…he-he's trapped Gerard…" Mikey sobbed and I felt tears build up in my own eyes and start to trickle down my face. We buried our faces in each other's shoulders and stood there until we both calmed down slightly. Mikey took a step back and wiped his face with his sleeve and then attempted a smile but it failed. I did the same and then quietly left his room. 

"G-goodnight Mikey." I was still holding back the urge to just full on break down. I went to my room and flicked on the lights, but then turned them off and shuffled my way to my bed. I crawled under the sheets and buried my face in my hands. No matter how hard I tried not to, the tears spilled over the edges of my eyelids again and I cried myself to sleep. 

***

"Gee…Gerard…Gee it's time to go to school c'mon get up!" I groaned and my eyes fluttered open. Mikey was fully dressed for school already, black jeans, a white t-shirt poking out from underneath his light grey sweater, glasses perched on the end of his nose, and a grey beanie hiding most of his hair except for the bits that were too long to hide unless he tucked them in. He shoved my arm again and I groaned louder. "C'mon get up!" 

"Okay! Okay! I'm gettin up..." I yawned and stretched and Mikey left the room. I sighed and rolled out of the comfort of my bed and onto my feet. I shuffled over to my dresser and yanked out a plain black t-shirt, some grey sweatpants, and I would wear my usual black hoodie again, even though it probably needed a good wash. I went to the bathroom and took a shower, ruffling my hair when I got out and then walked to the kitchen, dropping my clothes from yesterday in the hamper as I passed it. Mikey was drinking his coffee and he held a mug of it out to me without even looking up. I grasped the hot drink and sipped it slowly until it cooled off a little more. I looked at Mikey and he glanced up at me, a small smile made its way across his face. "What?" 

"Remember what's happening today?" I looked at him questioningly and then my eyes shot wide open. 

"Frank!" I exclaimed and he nodded, but at the mention of his name both of our excitement levels dropped quickly, remembering the key factor here. He was trapped, probably in some weird in between and there was nothing we could do about it. He would keep on being for the rest of time probably. He didn't deserve that…he deserved to be at peace, especially after the way he was killed. "Maybe that's why…" I said quietly but Mikey picked up on it. 

"Why what?" I glanced at him and returned my gaze to my coffee. 

"The way Frank died…it wasn't exactly a peaceful death…maybe that's why he's trapped." I sighed and the Mikey's gaze dropped down to look at his feet. 

"Yeah…maybe…" The conversation ended there and we headed out to my car and drove to school in complete and utter silence. 

[Frank's P.O.V.]

I picked up my pace as I strode across the street towards the Way household. They would probably be leaving any minute now, assuming Gerard was even awake yet. I got to the house quickly and sighed in relief when Gee's car was still sitting in the driveway. I walked up to the front door and turned the handle only to find it locked. I groaned in irritation but then had an idea. "How had Gee's knee gone through mine last night? It'd never happened before…maybe if I just focused I could…" I stuck my hand through the door and laughed in excitement. I moved forward and put the tip of my toe through the door too, then I took a deep breath and walked forward with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and turned to see the door behind me. "SWEET!" I exclaimed and then jogged happily towards Gee's room, hoping that he was at least dressed still. I came up behind Mikey and followed him to Gerard's room. He shook the handle and found it locked so he lifted it up and shoved and it came open. I had taught him that trick when Gerard had been drinking a lot and we were worried he would somehow get hurt and we wouldn't know it. I followed Mikey in the room and saw Gee still curled up on his side under his mass of black sheets. Mikey started to try and wake him up. 

"COME ON GEE GET UP!" I shouted but he didn't move so I just sat back and watched Mikey struggle. Finally Gee stirred and Mikey left the room. I watched him stretch and yawn and head over to his dresser and I followed him all the way up until he reached the bathroom. I went downstairs to join Mikey in the kitchen and found him, of course, brewing his coffee. "Man's a damn addict." I giggled to myself. Mikey rubbed his eyes and it was only then I noticed that they were red and puffy. He sighed and tilted his head back and blinked multiple times. I knew what he was doing, he was holding back tears. My shoulders sagged at this realization and I sat down at the table, putting my head in my hands. I moved my hands when Gerard walked down and I felt the stickiness on my left hand, knowing that it came from the wound still lingering on my left temple. I looked at the red fluid covering my entire left arm and side. I had given up on trying to wash it away a long time ago. I had jumped in plenty of swimming pools to free myself of the blood but it was back only moments later. Gee sipped the coffee that Mikey gave him and they started talking. 

"Frank!" I turned when Gee called my name. I watched both of their faces drop though, looking like they had both just lost everything they had. Guilt washed over me, knowing they were sad because of me. "Maybe that's why…" Gee said quietly. 

"Why what?" Mikey replied. 

"The way that Frank died…it wasn't exactly a peaceful death…maybe that's why he's trapped." I got up and walked over to them. I wished more than anything that I could tell them that everything was okay, that I didn't care anymore and just wanted to watch my friends be happy. 

"Yeah…maybe…" Mikey whispered and then the Way brothers headed to the garage and got in Gee's car. I went to grab the handle but then remembered my new trick and phased through the back door of the car and sat down. Gee pulled out of the driveway and headed towards my old school. For once in my life I actually wished I could still go to school, because then that'd mean I was still alive.


	7. Chapter 7

[Frank's P.O.V.]

We arrived at school just as the last bell rang and Gerard and Mikey took off running towards the doors before the security guards locked them. I ran after them, aiming for Gerard and closing my eyes as I passed through him. It was the weirdest feeling, I could suddenly feel all of his emotions and the beat of his heart. I could even hear the thoughts running through his head but as soon as I was through him it all disappeared. Gee froze and gasped, looking around him. 

"What? Come on Gee we can't get locked out!" Mikey grabbed Gerard's arm and pulled a still very confused Gee through the doors of the school just in time. I followed them, walking straight through the doors of the school. I noticed two security guards locking the doors, but one of them didn't look right. He was wearing a very old uniform that the school used twenty years ago, I knew this because of the photo wall we had in the main building. I recognized his face from the football team photos. He used to be the coach until…until he was brutally killed by an opposing team's coach. The man turned to me and smiled, half of his face was literally blown away. I waved back at him and he sighed. 

"Kids are dying younger and younger these days." His voice echoed as he spoke. 

"What can you do? People get crazier by the minute." I shrugged and he just chuckled before vanishing completely. I turned and ran to catch up to Gee and Mikey. They said goodbye to each other and I debated which Way to follow, in the end choosing Gerard because I loved to just sit and watch him draw all over his notes. Gee rounded a corner and froze and I quickly caught up and stood beside him. Shit. 

"Well now, looks like Mr. Way is a little late to class." Mitch, the school's lead asshole when Jack was ditching school, had his arms crossed with his group of friends standing behind him. 

"Fuck off Mitch." Gee snapped. 

"Come on Gerard be a little smarter about this! Mitch can rip you in half and no one is here to help!" I put my head in my hands, frustrated that there was practically nothing I could do. Mitch took a step forward and grabbed Gee by the throat and threw him into the lockers against the wall. Gerard yelped in pain and clawed at the hand that was restricting his breathing. I clenched my fists in anger and threw a punch at the back of Mitch's head but my hand went right through his thick skull. I screamed out in anger and suddenly the lights in the hall started flickering rapidly again and a small breeze whipped through our hair. Mitch froze and started looking around, terror displayed in his eyes but he looked calm on the surface. I took a deep breath and the lights came back on fully and the small breeze stopped. So I'm controlling it with my emotions? I grinned evilly and clenched my fists again and focused on the lights first and the lights started to flicker again. I felt a little energy drain but I didn't think it was anything so I focused on the breeze again and it started up. Mitch grabbed Gerard and I heard a deafening crack when Gee protected his face with his arm when Mitch punched him. Gee screamed out and doubled over, clutching his arm. This sent me over the edge and the lights flickered more quickly and the breeze picked up, even though we were inside I could still make a breeze somehow. The lockers all flew open and started slamming shut at different times. I felt truly evil right then, it felt like even inanimate objects were terrified of me and I liked it, it sent shivers down my spine. Mitch stepped away from Gerard and looked around. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" He shouted out into the empty hallway. A locker slammed particularly hard near him and he took off running. I waited till he disappeared around the corner and I let go of my control over the lights, wind, and lockers. I fell to my knees, my arms barely catching me as I crashed to the ground. I turned my head to look at Gee and I crawled over on my hands and knees to him. 

"F-Frank? Is-is that you?" He choked out. I had clearly frightened him just as much as I had frightened them. He was clutching his arm and I noticed red liquid flowing between his fingers. 

"Gee are-are you okay?" I asked knowing he couldn't hear me. I put my hand on his shoulder to let him know I was here. He flinched a little at what he probably only felt as a cold spot. 

"Thanks Frank…" He held back sobs. I nodded and went to put my hand on top of his but when I did my hand was half see through. I jumped and held my other hand beside it, both my hands were disappearing in front of me as well as my legs. I looked at my reflection in the window and could see right through myself. 

"You used too much energy at once, kid." I turned my head to see the deceased football coach. "You'll be sent back to where you died until you gain some of your energy back." 

"NO! WHAT ABOUT GERARD!" I shrieked and he just shook his head. I got up focused on all the classroom doors along this hallway, flinging them open all at once. I watched the first teacher emerge and see Gerard and start running towards him before blacking out. 

When I opened my eyes I was lying on the dirt patch in the park, in the exact position I had died in. I got up, my body feeling weak which was weird because ghosts didn't have anything left to feel this way but I was. I rubbed my temples and looked around me. Jack, the little boy who unfortunately shared the same name as the true lead bully, appeared in front of me. 

"FRANKIE!" He jumped forwards on to me and I fell backwards. 

"Hey kiddo." I laughed and he got off of me and I sat up.

"Where have you been Frankie? I was looking all over for you!" He stuck his bottom lip out and pouted. 

"I went to school with Gerard and Mikey today. Y'know, my friends from when I was alive?" He nodded and sighed. 

"I wish I had friends still…all the other kids here are afraid of me when I show them that I'm a ghost." He looked so upset so I pulled him into a hug. 

"Jack, people just don't understand that not everyone passes on. They are afraid of what they can't see and touch, it's just a normal human reaction. Maybe if you stop disappearing in front of them then they will be your friends longer. You have an amazing gift. You can be seen and heard whereas other ghosts can't. I'd give anything for that." He looked at me with his good eye and nodded. I tickled him a little and he burst out into a fit of giggles. "Okay come on let's go play." He jumped up and ran off across the field, disappearing halfway and popping up on the playground in the blink of an eye. I closed my eyes and focused on the spot next to where he was standing but I still couldn't do what he was able to so I just ran towards him. I played with him, smiling the whole time, but knowing that I couldn't leave the park to see Gee, who was probably in the hospital by now, was keeping me from enjoying any of it.


	8. Chapter 8

Four Hours. That's how long it took for me to get enough strength to be able to take a single step outside the boundaries of the park. It took four more hours for me to be able to make it down to Gerard's house before bouncing back to the park. 

"DAMNIT!" I screamed out in anger, throwing my fist into the bark of the tree in frustration. 

"Frankie?" I turned to the familiar voice and saw Mikey hesitantly stepping around the tree to look at the dirt patch. He had the Ouija board tucked neatly under his arm. He sat down and placed it on the grass and took the pointer out of his pocket and placed it on the board. "Frankie if you're here lemme know." I grabbed the pointer in a flash and started frantically moving it around. 

I-M-H-E-R-E. 

"Good. Gerard's in the hospital, the jocks at school broke his arm pretty badly. He seemed a little shook up though and he said he felt you there." Mikey looked pretty shaken himself as a matter of fact. 

I-W-A-S. 

"He said the lockers were opening and closing by themselves and the lights were flickering and everything right after he got hit. Was that you?" He looked up and I thought he was looking right at me but he wasn't, he was watching a moth fly around in between us. I moved the pointer to 'yes'. "I'm glad you were there Frank, he would have been pulverized if you hadn't intervened. He wants to see you. As soon as mom left the room he begged me to come meet you here and see if you would come visit." Mikey played with a few strands of grass before brutally ripping them out of the ground. I moved the pointer to 'yes' again, trying to keep my answers simple because he didn't have a pad of paper to write on. "Cool let's go." He went to stand but I grabbed his arm, causing him to stop short. "Did-you just touched me didn't you?" I moved the pointer to the 'yes' again. 

C-A-N-T-L-E-A-V-E.

"Why not? Don't you want to see Gerard? He really wants you there Frank." 

U-S-E-D-A-L-L-E-N-E-R-G-Y. 

"Well what does that mean?" He crossed his arms and stared at the board, clearly frustrated. 

C-A-N-T-L-E-A-V-E-P-A-R-K. I paused and gave him a second before continuing on. T-O-O-W-E-A-K. I got up and started pacing around the rectangular dirt patch, my hands gripping tufts of my hair. I was so irritated and pissed off because there was nothing more that I wanted to do than run to the hospital and see Gerard. 

"So lemme get this straight…you used too much energy saving Gerard so now you can't leave the park to go see him until you're stronger?" I moved to grab the pointer but it shot to 'yes' when my hand was still a few inches above it. "Well, I guess I have to go tell him then…WAIT A SECOND! Hey can't ghosts possess people or objects?" I looked at the pointer and it shot to the letter I was thinking of. I relished a little in my new power but it also frightened me. I realized that the more ghost like things I could do the more I lost any sense of normalcy, not that there really had been any before. 

I-D-U-N-N-O. 

"Well you should try it! If you possess me then you can go see Gerard cause you can use my energy!" He looked excited and I just stood there looking at him. I walked up to him and put my hand lightly on his shoulder and focused on my ability to phase through objects. Maybe if I phased until I was standing inside of him and then solidified back into my normal ghost self then it would work? My hand slipped through his shoulder and then I pulled it back out. I looked at the Ouija board and the pointer started flicking around at my will. 

S-T-A-N-D-S-T-I-L-L. 

"Will do." Mikey stood perfectly still, staring across the field. I walked up behind him and stood directly behind him. He was so much taller than me. I sighed and closed my eyes and focused on phasing, when I felt a lightness radiate through my body and I took a step forward. I opened my eyes and I nearly screamed at what I saw. I could literally see his heart, beating and pumping blood through his body. I closed my eyes again and when I opened them all I saw was the field laying out in front of me. I sighed and turned around to tell Mikey it didn't work but he wasn't there when I turned around. In fact he was nowhere in sight. 

"Mikey where the hell-" I froze, my voice was different…way different, but familiar. My eyes went wide and I noticed, for the first time, the glasses perched on the end of my-no his nose. I looked down at the Ouija board and picked it up and ran towards the parking lot. I could actually feel the breeze and the grass sinking underneath my feet. I ran up to Gerard's car, Mikey must have driven it here, and looked at my reflection. It wasn't my face, it was Mikey's. I smiled at the reflection and laughed. "I did it Mikey!" I felt something fight my presence and suddenly it was like I was watching everything happen from the back seat. 

"Whoa…what the hell? How did I end up here?" He looked around and I saw everything he did. It was weird not having any control over the body I was in. 

_Well this is really fucking weird._ I said to myself. 

"FRANK?!" Mikey suddenly shouted, looking around him. "I swear I just heard you!" 

_You heard me? Dude! I'm in your head! You can hear my thoughts!_

"You're inside of me? So it worked! That's awesome! Come on let's go see Gerard!" Mikey got in the car, I felt weird because it was like I was in a movie theater looking through the main character's eyes, and started the engine. He backed out and sped off down the road towards the hospital. He parked the car and jumped out, running to the front desk where the nurse led him back to Gee's room. I was definitely not prepared for what I saw.


	9. Chapter 9

He lay there on the white bed, crisp white sheets covering him from the waist down. Everything was white, it was blinding but there was one bright spot of color. A white bandage was wrapped around Gee's chest and a large red patch stained the left side of it. A cast was wrapped around his arm and I could see several large purplish bruises starting to cover his chest and arms. I ran towards Gerard, slipping out from Mikey's body. 

"Frank? Where'd you go? I can't hear you!" I ignored Mikey and just placed a hand on top of Gerard's. I looked at the pained expression on his face and I felt my anger levels rising. The lights in the room started flickering again and I felt more of my energy drain. I took a deep breath immediately, I couldn't leave him again. "Frank?" I glanced at Mikey and quickly walked back over and into him, opening my eyes just to look through his again. 

_This is my fault Mikes._

"This is not your fault! You tried to save him…you did save him!" Mikey walked over and grabbed Gee's hand and I could feel his hand touch Gee's. 

_It is my fault Mikey, if I hadnt died…_

"THAT WAS NOT YOUR FAULT!" Mikey raised his voice and I could feel the anger radiate through his body. Gerard stirred slightly. 

_Shh Mikes, we'll talk later. Right now let's just be there for Gerard._

"Fine, later." He snapped but then sighed. "I just hope he wakes up soon." 

_Me too Mikey…me too._ We sat in Gerard's hospital room for hours and Mrs. Way came and went. I had left Mikey's body again a few hours ago and was pacing the room, stopping occasionally to sit by Gee's side. I sighed and got up again for the billionth time and walked over to the window. 

"Frank." I jumped at the voice but then took a deep breath and sighed. 

"You scared me Jack." I turned and looked at the little boy and he just stared at me, not a hint of a smile on his face. 

"Frank. He's killing again." Jack said it straight faced, staring blankly at me. 

"Who-who killing again?" I got down on my knees in front of him. 

"The man who killed you. He's killing again." My eyes went wide and I gripped the boy's shoulders unnecessarily hard. He backed up, his shoulders phasing through my fingertips. I just sat there on my knees. 

"Where?!" Jack's eyes regained their shine as he looked at me. 

"The park." I felt my chest shudder and I stood up and staggered backwards. I felt a sharp pain in the side of my head and I yelped in pain as it quickly intensified. The lights in the room started flickering as I screamed in anguish, dropping to the floor again and clutching the wound on the side of my head. 

"You're feeling it. The pain he caused you. You're feeling it cause he's there again, he's killing in the same spot you were killed in." Jack said ominously. I looked up at him, my eyes watering from the pain. 

"Frank!? What are you doing?! What's wrong!?" I heard Mikey call out. I scrambled painfully to my feet and staggered over to him, almost doubling over again in agony. I practically fell into him. "AGH!" He screamed out, clutching his head for some reason. 

_Mikey! You okay?! What's wrong!?_

"My head! It hurts!" He was clutching the side of his head right where I had been shot. 

"He's feeling what you're feeling because you are possessing his body." I heard Jack's voice through Mikey's ears. 

"Who was that?" Mikey looked around the room. 

_Mikey! I have to go! You're head is hurting because my head is hurting. Jack told me that my killer is killing someone at the park again! I have to go! I have to know who it is!_

"WHAT?! Dude I have to call the cops!" He scrambled over towards the side table, grabbing his phone. 

_Call them! Quick! I have to go! If Gerard wakes up then tell him I'm sorry I couldn't be here._ With that I focused on the patch of dirt at the park and I felt the flurry of wind engulf me and I opened my eyes. I turned towards to look out over the park and saw a black figure holding a girl down, smacking her face each time she talked back. 

"YOU RATTED ME OUT BITCH!" He shouted and slapped her across the face again. I ran over to them and tried to shove him but ended up only going through him. He paused for a second, looking around. I caught a glimpse of a scar running down his right cheek, but other than that his face was once again blurry to me. 

"LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" I shouted and tried to shove him again, focusing hard on my abilities, but again I was denied and went through him. I saw a flash of silver and my body froze up. _**BANG!**_ The sound echoed through my mind and I feared the worst, but when I looked down she was still alive. He held a shiny silver knife to her throat though.

"Please…please…don't…." The girl sobbed, trying to push away from the man. 

"ADMIT IT!" The man's gruff voice rang out in the park. "ADMIT THAT YOU TOLD THE COPS!" This was all too familiar. He had shouted at me about the same thing when I had no idea what he was talking about.

"I didn't! I didn't do it!" She sobbed out and he moved the blade to her arm and sliced across her flesh. "AAAGGGHHH!" She screamed out in pain, he clamped her mouth with his hand. 

"ADMIT IT!" He growled again and she just shook her head no. He sliced her other arm and her scream muted by his hand. I felt helpless, not able to do anything as she was slowly killed. My anger was building as I watched my killer take someone else's life. The breeze picked up around me, causing the leaves on the trees to rustle and the park light's nearby started flickering. My anger rose and the wind got stronger but all of it was for nothing because she suddenly screamed out. I froze and everything came to a stand still. I looked down and then fell to my knees. The knife was in her chest, stabbing her in the heart. Blood was pouring out of the wound. The man ripped the knife from her chest and then slashed her throat, as if killing her one way wasn't enough.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" I screamed out. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! WHAT KILLING ME WASN'T ENOUGH!? YOU SICK BASTARD!" I screamed out into the rising wind. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" I screamed again. His head snapped up and he looked around, clearly afraid. I was glad he could hear me. I wanted him to be haunted by my voice. "BASTARD!" I shouted again and he jumped, but then shook his head and stood up. The girl had stopped moving and my metaphorical heart sank. The man took a step back and pulled an object out of his boot. My head started throbbing again until it was a searing pain and I dropped to my knees again, clutching my head. I looked up and an all too familiar gun was being held out in front of him. He cocked the gun, aimed, and then fired. I jumped at the sound and my vision was suddenly starting to blur. I struggled to keep myself awake but the pain in my head was too intense and I felt as if I had been shot all over again. I slumped to the ground beside the girl's body and the last thing I saw was a pair of boots running off in the other direction.


	10. Chapter 10

"Frank…Frank…wake up!" I heard a voice inside my head and I slowly opened my eyes and got up on my hands and feet. I looked to my left and my eyes went wide in sudden realization. I crawled closer to the girl and frantically searched for a heartbeat, even though I knew there wouldn't be one. 

"NO! NO!" I shouted and tears started streaming down my eyes. "NO!" I started giving her CPR, knowing that I wasn't actually doing anything at all, I was a ghost and she was dead but I felt like I had to try. "NO!" I shouted in between breaths. 

"Frank. Frank, she's gone." I turned my head to see a young man in his twenties, his name was Jamie, killed during his leave of action back in World War II. He had come home to his family only to be shot and killed by a man he thought was his friend. He had died in his military uniform, with blood streaming down the front of it from the gunshot wound on his chest. 

"NO! SHE CAN'T!" I screamed. 

"Frank, leave her be…she's gone." I slumped where I was sitting and turned my face to the sky, letting the tears stream down my cheeks. 

"She-she can't be…" I sobbed. Jamie sat down beside me and I leaned into him. He and Jack had been the first to appear to me when I died, telling me everything would be all right even though we all knew it wouldn't be. They had kept me company on numerous occasions, and they had stood beside my open casket at the funeral. I had been there too, standing beside my own corpse, watching the faces of people I loved come and go. 

"She is, we can't do anything about it Frank. I wish more than anything that we could help, but…we just can't." I looked at Jamie and he smiled at me. "Go on Frank, leave before she appears, I'll tell her everything." 

"N-no…I'll do it. That bastard killed me too. I-I just want her to know that she's not alone." He nodded and started to fade away. 

"Well looks like my times up for today. I'll come back tomorrow and see how you guys are doing." I nodded and he closed his eyes and disappeared entirely. I looked back at the girl and the tears started flowing again. I heard the sound of sirens coming down the road, but they were far too late. I heard the screech of the tires and then the sound of footsteps through the grass. 

"SHE'S OVER HERE!" I stood up and stepped back away from her body. Paramedics rushed around me and started checking vitals but I knew they would find none. One of the paramedics looked around and his eyes seemed to land right on me but I knew he probably wasn't. 

"Hey, you!" The guy said and I turned to look around me but saw no one. 

"Are-are you talking to me?" I pointed to myself and he nodded slowly, then got up leaving the other paramedics to close off the area, now that it wasn't just a crime, it was a murder. He walked straight past me but motioned with his head to follow. He could see me? How?! I hurried off after him. He led me over towards the dirt patch and stopped, looking down at it. 

"You're a ghost aren't you?" He whispered. 

"Uh…yeah, how-how can you see me?" 

"I died once, but I was only dead for a few minutes, ever since…I've been able to see the…deceased." He looked me up and down, his eyes catching on my left temple. I nervously shifted my feet. I watched his eyes trace the blood down my neck, shoulder, and then my arm, right down to my fingertips. "What-" 

"Murdered." I said before he could even finish. 

"Oh, I'm-I'm so sorry…" 

"It's been a year. I'm fine." He nodded and then glanced back at the crime scene. "She was killed…by the same guy who killed me." I said quietly and he turned and stared wide-eyed at me. 

"Do you know who did it?!" I put my hand over his mouth and he surprisingly reacted, unable to speak. I pulled my hand away. 

"No, I don't. He has a scar on the right side of his face though." He nodded and turned and headed towards the police standing around the crime scene. I shrank back away from the crime scene, saddened by the fact that this man killed another innocent person. I leaned against my tree and just watched as they processed the crime scene. 

It wasn't until I heard screaming that I woke up, unaware that I had even fallen asleep in the first place. 

"WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? STOP IT!" I looked around at the still densely populated crime scene for the source of the screams. I found it. In the center, standing beside the girl's body, was the girl herself. Blood covered her practically from head to toe from her wounds. I scrambled to my feet and ran towards her. The wind was picking up as I got closer and she was freaking out. I grabbed her arm and she shrieked, her eyes doing the same as the man before. "What happened to you?!" She whispered. 

"Shh just calm down and come with me." She tried to take a step away but I shut my eyes and focused on the other side of the field and felt the small flurry of wind and opened my eyes. We were standing along the tree line, far from the crime scene. 

"WHAT?! HOW?!" She kept shouting and I put my hands on her shoulders. 

"Shh please, calm down…" She took a few breaths but I could tell she was still shaky and her eyes were searching desperately for answers. 

"Am I dead?" She whispered, her eyes preparing to drop a few dozen tears at my answer. "Back there…that was my body wasn't it?" The first of many tears to come dropped from her eyes. 

"Yes it was, I'm so sorry…um…" She took a few minutes to calm herself, wiping continuous tears from her cheeks. 

"Natalie." I hesitated and then slowly wrapped my arms around her shoulders, attempting to comfort her.


	11. Chapter 11

I held her while she cried some more, I knew how hard this would be for her. "Why-why me?" She sobbed into my shoulder, being as she was taller than me. 

"It's not you personally, that man…that man has killed before." I said quietly and she took a step back and searched my face for clues. I turned my head and she gasped as she saw the bullet wound on my left temple, and the blood running down my left side. He put her fingers to the wound and I flinched slightly, she pulled her hand back. 

"He-he killed you too?" She whispered and I nodded slowly. 

"I was his first…he killed me close to where he killed you. You know the dirt patch next to the large tree?" She nodded slowly. "Used to have grass there, they dug that spot up though when they were looking for clues about my killer. I died there." Her eyes were wide and tears threatened to flow over again. "It's fine really. It was a year ago…" 

"A year ago…YOU'RE FRANK! YOU'RE FRANK IERO!" She gasped and I was a little taken aback that she knew who I was even though I am down right positive I have never seen her before. "My mom was friends with your mom in high school…your mom called us when you died. She was so upset." 

"Yeah, obviously not enough to come to my funeral though." I turned and looked back towards the crime scene across the park from us. 

"She didn't go?" Natalie breathed behind me. 

"No. She didn't bother to show up." I put my hands in my pockets and huffed, watching people scurry about behind the yellow tape. I spotted a familiar face standing on the outskirts of the crime scene, near my dirt patch. Mikey. "Hey Natalie, come with me." I grabbed her arm and closed my eyes, we popped up right next to Mikey. I touched his shoulder and he flinched and spun around, eyes searching. 

"Frank? Was that you?" He spun around searching. I looked at Natalie. 

"Stay right here, don't move." She nodded and I turned and faced Mikey then walked into him, possessing his mind.   
_Mikes, it's me_. 

"Frank! What happened did they get to the person in time?" He whispered, staring at the crime scene, not able to see where her body lay right now. 

_No, she's gone Mikey…she's actually standing right in front of you. Her name's Natalie._ Mikey stared straight ahead and I wondered briefly if I could control what he saw. I focused on seeing her and she started to materialize in Mikey's vision. He jumped back in shock and I could feel his heart start beating a mile a minute. 

"I-I can see her…" He choked out and Natalie just stared back, her body drenched in blood.

_I'm making you see her._ I felt some of my energy drain as I held the vision. 

_Poor girl._ Mikey said in his head so only I could hear. 

_Sick bastard is gonna pay for this._ I growled. Mikey nodded in agreement. My energy slipped a little more. _Mikey, I can't hold it much longer. How's Gee?_

_He's stable and the doc said he'd be okay._ I sighed in relief. 

_Good. You should go back to him. I don't want him waking up alone in a hospital, you know he'll freak out when he sees the IV needle in his arm._ I slipped out of Mikey before he answered and took a deep breath, standing beside Natalie. 

"How'd you do that?" She looked at me then Mikey then back to me.

"Honestly, I just did it, I don't really know how I just y'know do things. I guess you gain skills over time." I shrugged and she nodded. 

"Can you…walk through things?" I smirked and went to my left and walked straight through the largest tree. "That's so cool!" 

"Yeah, but again I only learned how just recently." She looked a little deterred but not much. 

"This sucks." Was all she said next before sitting down cross legged and putting her head in her hands. "I had my whole life ahead of me, a family that loves me, and a boyfriend that-" She paused and her eyes went wide. 

"What? What is it?" I kneeled down in front of her. 

"JUSTIN!" She shouted then got up and started running out of the park. I got up and chased after her, not knowing where the hell she was headed, but definitely knowing that she wouldn't get far before being bounced back. 

"WAIT! STOP!" I shouted but she kept running. I slowed down, predicting she would bounce back any second but as I watched she just kept running down the street, getting smaller and smaller. The hell? I closed my eyes, picturing her in my mind and I started running with my eyes closed and when I opened them I looked to my right and she was beside me, still running. "You shouldn't be able to do this!" I shouted as we ran. 

"Do what?!" She shouted back. 

"Leave the park! Normally everyone is stuck near the spot they died for at least a few months!" She glanced at me, eyes wide but then turned and focused back on where she was running. 

"I have to go find Justin! I don't have time to sit and wait for him to come to the park!" She was very determined, I could tell just by looking at her face as she ran. 

"HOLD ON!" I grabbed her arm and pulled us to a stop. 

"WHAT?!" She shouted, yanking her arm back from me. 

"Where is he? I mean, where would he be right now?" She looked at me bewildered for a few moments. 

"Uh, he'd probably be sitting in his living room playing video games or something." I grabbed her hand. 

"Okay, you shouldn't be able to do this either but…picture his living room and then close your eyes and will yourself to be there." She raised an eyebrow at me and then did as I said. I kept my eyes open for once, wondering what it was like to suddenly transport without having to close them. The world suddenly blurred and whipped by us and we were standing in a living room. A teenage boy was sitting in front of the TV, watching some random show. I looked at Natalie and she was hesitantly walking towards her boyfriend. I could see the tears start to slip down her face as she sat down next to him so I quickly and quietly left the room to give her some space. 

I walked outside and sat down on the curb, putting my head in my hands. Everything just sucked…I don't understand why people would kill other people. I sighed, taking a deep breath before I got too angry again. I stood up and looked back at the house, seeing Natalie through the window sitting next to Justin. I started walking and pictured the hospital room Gee was in and then focused on being there, trying to keep my eyes open at the same time. The world blurred and I was suddenly walking towards Gee's bed. I stopped by him and sat down in an empty chair that had been placed here. He was sound asleep still, an IV still stuck into his arm but he looked better than he had been before. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. 

"Frank? Is that you?" I looked and saw Gee's eyes flutter open. He looked around the room slowly and I stood up and then sat down on the bed. He clearly noticed cause he looked down at the spot where I was sitting. He moved his hand near my leg and I hesitantly placed my hand on top of his. The hair on his arm rose up and goosebumps started to form. "I'm glad you're here." He whispered, his voice ragged. They had apparently done more damage to him after I had left. "Frank…" He mumbled out as I watched his head loll from side to side. Something was wrong, his face had drained of color and he didn't look coherent. "F-F-Fran-" His eyes rolled back in his head and his body started to twist and turn violently. 

"GEE! GERARD?! GERARD!!!" I started screaming, my emotions started messing with the equipment, setting off alarms. I jumped on the bed, straddling him and trying to hold him down but to no avail. I couldn't touch him. I got off the bed, reluctantly running out of the room. I couldn't see any doctors running this way. I saw a few in other rooms with patients and a few walking the other way. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? YOU SICK BASTARDS!" I ran up to one and nailed her in the back of the head, but she kept walking like nothing happened. I grabbed another and threw them into the wall and seconds later they were still walking away. "HELP! PLEASE! HELP!" I shouted, breaking down and falling to my knees. I struggled back up on to my feet though and ran back to Gerard's room to find him laying quietly, a white foam coming out of the side of his mouth, his eyes open, staring lifelessly at the ceiling. "GERARD!" I ran to the side of his bed, crashing into it. "GERARD! PLEASE!" I sobbed and frantically tried doing CPR on him, knowing deep down it wouldn't do anything. 

"HEY WE NEED HELP IN HERE!" I jumped and turned my head to see the paramedic from the park. He rushed over and lightly pushed me out of the way and started doing CPR, his was actually helping though. He glanced at me. "Did you set the alarms off?" He said as he pumped Gee's chest. I nodded and he turned back to Gee and breathed into his mouth. "What happened?" 

"I-I don't know…he just-" I was suddenly cut off by a voice that was all too familiar. 

"Frank?" I turned around and my eyes went wide. His black hair hung around his face, drenched in sweat, contrasting his white hospital gown greatly. 

"Gerard…" I fell to my knees as my body felt like it was being ripped to pieces by the immense sadness that washed over me.


	12. Chapter 12

He rushed to me and picked me up, looking me in the eyes and a smile spread across his face.

"Frank I can see you! You really are here!" He hugged me close as I continued to cry, I couldn't move my arms or legs…I just felt…numb. 

"G-Gee…you're…you're dead, that's why you can see me." I sobbed loudly and felt Gerard hold me back a little away from him and he looked confused. 

"No I can't be dead because I can feel everything and the paramedic can see me." I turned my head to look at the medic who was still working furiously on Gerard's body, trying to get him to breathe again. 

"He can see me too because he died, but was brought back. Gerard, look at the body he's working on." Gee let me go and inched around me, I walked with him back to the bedside and watched his eyes light up in recognition. Tears started to stream down his cheeks. 

"Gerard, where is Mikey?" Gee turned his head slightly and glanced at me, trying to hold back his tears. 

"I-I dunno…I n-never s-saw him." He broke down, sobbing and clutching at the fabric of the night gown on his corporeal body. Yet, I couldn't move. I just stood there and watched the paramedic work frantically, I watched the nurses and doctors come flying in to help, and I watched Gee's back shudder as he cried. I heard the sound of his mother's voice as she came running into the room, screaming and shouting at the doctor's to save her son. I watched the doctors prepare the defibrillator and it all seemed so surreal to me. The first shock ripped through Gerard's body and his ghostly self seemed to get fuzzy. The second shock shot through and his form blurred out again before returning to normal. A third shock and there was still no change in his body, still no heartbeat. The doctors were giving up, I could tell and they started to shut the machine down but that's where I drew the line. I ran around to where the machine was being unplugged and focused all my strength on the single spark that remained charged inside the machine. I felt the spark as if it was part of me and I magnified its strength the doctors probably thought it was shorting out but I released the spark and it shot through the machine, causing Gerard's body to arch up off the bed before quickly slumping back down. I looked around the room and didn't see Gee anywhere. I watched his body, praying that it worked and suddenly the heart monitor beeped. The doctors were stunned but there it was, after five agonizing minutes there was a heartbeat. I sighed and sat down on the side of Gee's bed. 

"You are a lucky bastard. You know that Gerard?" I whispered quietly, breathing heavily due to the amount of energy I had expended so quickly. His mom was on the other side, clutching his hand in hers. She seemed to look right at me and smiled then looked back down at her son. 

"Thank you Frank, for everything." She cried into his hand. "I heard Mikey and Gerard talking about you and saying something about feeling and hearing you again. So if you're really here and you just saved his life…thank you, thank you so much." She bawled and I just smiled and looked at Gee. His eyelids fluttered and slowly opened. He stared up at the white ceiling then looked down at his mom, crying and clutching his hand. Then he looked to his right and his eyes met mine, going wide and then relaxing and smiling at me. 

"I can see you still, Frank…thank you." He choked out, his voice was hoarse. His mom's head shot up and he kissed his forehead multiple times. 

"Gerard Arthur Way! I swear to god if you ever do something like that to me again I'll-I'll ground you for a month!" He chuckled at that and she smiled, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. 

"I'll try not to let it happen again." He smirked at her, his eyes remaining half lidded. She nodded and moved her hand to his cheek, getting up to kiss his forehead. The doctors and nurses started to slowly leave the room, making sure his vitals were normal before leaving him alone with Mrs. Way and me. Gerard turned his head to look at me again and a smile spread across his face. 

"What are you smiling at honey?" His mom whispered and without turning away he answered. 

"Frank. I can see him." I smiled at him and grabbed his hand in mine.

"You can see him? Gerard, honey…he's here?" He turned his head to look at her, looking a little taken aback that she believed him. "Gee, are you sure it's him?" 

"Teenage boy, black skinny jeans, red shirt with 'homophobia is gay' written on it, long black faux-hawk with short red hair on the sides, black Converse?" We all turned our heads to see the paramedic leaning in the doorframe. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Uh, yeah…how'd you-" Gerard began. 

"I uh…died, like you a few years ago and was lucky enough to be brought back, but ever since then I've been able to see…well…the dead." He walked over and sat down beside Mrs. Way. She looked at him and tried to see if he was just being an asshole and cracking jokes but she quickly realized he wasn't. 

"You two can really see him? You can really see Frank in this room?" They both nodded and looked at me. She just looked in my general direction. 

"Frank saved Gerard's life. Sending that last shock through the machine did the trick, nice thinking on your part." 

"I couldn't just sit by and watch my best friend die." I looked at Gerard and then slapped the side of his face and he looked stunned. "You better not fucking do that to me ever again Gerard Way." He laughed lightly then started to really laugh, something I hadn't heard him do in a long time, actually laugh. 

"Mom said the same thing." He smirked and wiped his eyes. 

"Gerard? What-what is Frank saying? This is a bit awkward Frank, uh that I can't hear you but…bear with me?" She just kept watching in the same general direction. 

"Mrs. Way, I could never be frustrated with you, you've given me a lot already by being my replacement mother basically." I reached across the bed and put my hand on top of hers and she shivered a little. 

"He was just telling me that I can't ever die on him again just like you said and he says 'its all good." 

"That's not what I said Gerard." I glared at him and he just chuckled. 

"Gerard is paraphrasing what Frank is really saying. He said that you've given him a lot by basically being his replacement mother and he could never be frustrated with you." The paramedic said and I thanked him. 

"What's your name?" I asked, standing up and walking around the other side of the bed. 

"Mason." He extended his hand and I looked at it for a moment and he started to recoil but I reached out and grabbed his hand and shook it. "Whoa, talk about chilly." He laughed and I smirked, pulling my hand away. 

"Has anyone seen Mikey by the way?" Mrs. Way looked at Gerard then to Mason. 

"He was leaving the park last I saw, on his way here actually…" I said, looking at Gerard with a confused expression. Mikey always went where he said he was going or where he was told to go, he never argued about it either. 

"Frank says he was leaving the park last he saw and was on his way to the hospital to see me." Mrs. Way's face turned to one of concern. 

"Mikey should be here then, he always does what he says he's doing!" She got up and started walking out of the room. "I'm going to check the waiting room and the front desk to see if he signed in!" Mason followed her out to help check. I looked to Gerard. 

"Frank, is there any way you could find him?" 

"I-I don't think so Gee, I'm new to all this 'extra ability' shit. I can go out and check the park again if you want?" He looked like he didn't want me to leave but he nodded anyways. 

"Please?" I grinned and patted his hand. 

"I'm on it." I walked over to the door and decided it'd be easier just to phase through it. I snorted when I heard Gee say "whoa…" behind me. I walked down hall, through the waiting room and found Mason. "Hey, I'm going to check the park and see if Mikey is there, I'll go check the Way house too. Tell Mrs. Way to calm down, I'm sure Mikes is just fine." He nodded. 

"How are you gonna get in their house?" I smirked and shoved my hand through his chest. 

"Piece of cake." I walked away from him and headed out of the hospital, deciding to walk there just in case I saw Mikey on his way to the hospital. 

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

I ran to my car after Frank told me to go be with Gerard. I fished for my keys in my pocket and then sifted through the near twenty keys I had looking for the one that unlocked my car door. I found it and slid it into the slot and turned the key. Suddenly something slammed into the back of my head and my vision went fuzzy, I slumped to the ground in sheer agony and the last thing I saw was a tattooed hand reaching down and grabbing me by the arm.


	13. Chapter 13

[Frank's P.O.V.]

I stopped at the Way house on the walk, still not seeing Mikey anywhere. I phased through the front door and headed straight for Mikey's room, phasing through his door as well. It was dark and empty, not a single light on. I phased back out of his room and proceeded to check Gerard's room, the kitchen, the living room, the dining room, and I even forced myself to break my rule of not going in their mom's bedroom, to check. I phased into the garage and saw his car wasn't here so where the hell was he? 

"Mikey where the hell are you?" I phased through the garage door and walked down the driveway and back on to the sidewalk. 

"Who are you looking for?" I jumped and grasped my chest with my hand. I turned around to see Jack standing there behind me. 

"I'm looking for Mikey, Gerard's brother. Remember him?" Jack stuck his hands up in the air and I picked him up and rested him on my hip.

"He was at the park today." He said as he wrapped his arms around my neck and I kept on walking down the sidewalk, carrying him. 

"Have you seen him since the park?" I looked at Jack and he shook his head no. I sighed and picked up the pace, growing antsy as I couldn't find the missing Way. I headed over to the park and started walking through the parking lot when I saw Mikey's car sitting in the same spot and the keys to it sticking out of the lock on the driver's door. I put Jack down and ran over to the car, yanking the door open. There was no one, just the keys in the lock. I took a step back and looked at the car, noticing a large dent in the side that hadn't been there before. I spun around looking at the parking lot for any sign of Mikey. I closed my eyes and popped up in the park. I scanned the grassy field but there wasn't a hint of Mikey anywhere. I closed my eyes again and reappeared in the parking lot next to the car. I heard a squish when I popped up though and I hesitantly looked down. "No…no no…this can't…" I raised my right foot slightly, listening to the sickening squish it made as I raised it out of the small pool of blood. I looked to Jack but he was gone. "DAMNIT!" I screamed out in frustration, slamming my fist into the side of the car. "MIKEY WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" I turned and started running, thinking of the hospital room where Gee was and then shut my eyes, only realizing then that I had started to cry. I opened my eyes and I heard someone gasp loudly. I stood there, frozen to the spot. 

"Frank? Did you find him?" I looked up at the ceiling as if I could hold my tears in my eyes with the help of gravity but I couldn't they still streamed down my face, the ones on my left cheek collecting blood as they dripped to the floor. There's another thing…why was no one ever frightened by me…I was dead for one thing and for another thing I was fucking bloody and gross looking. I looked down at Gerard. 

"No, Gee…he's gone. I-I think he was kidnapped or-" I cut myself off from saying "dead," he just couldn't be, not Mikey. 

"WHAT?!" Gee shot up on his bed, angrily tossing the sheets off of him and he came towards me. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me into the wall. "CAN'T YOU FIND HIM!?" He snapped angrily and I just shook my head 'no.' Tears streamlined down his cheeks and his hands dropped to his sides just as nurses came in responding to the frantic beeping of the machines. 

"Gerard…I'm sorry I just can't find him, I mean I'm only human!" I sobbed. He flashed me an angry glare. 

"Only human? FRANK YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE NOT HUMAN! HELL YOU'RE NOT ANYTHING BUT CONDENSED MIST IF THAT! AND YOU ARE BOUND TO A STUPID FUCKING PARK! WHAT HELP ARE YOU!?" He shouted angrily, tears pouring down like waterfalls on his cheeks. I knew he was just frustrated and hopefully didn't mean anything he was saying, but I couldn't help but feel hurt by his words. 

"Fuck you very much Gerard. Go find your own brother next time." I growled. "This 'condensed mist' is going to just go back to his park and sulk like he's supposed to." Gerard glared at me for a moment before his eyes softened and he seemed to realize what he'd said. 

"Frank, I-" I stormed out of the room through the walls before he could say anything else and stomped angrily out of the parking lot.

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

"Please…I didn't do anything!" I cried out once again, straining against the ropes that were binding my hands and feet to the chair. 

"SHUT UP!" The man yelled, his face was covered by shadow and the only thing I could identify him by was the tattoo on his hand. 

"Please! I need a hospital! Please!" I cried out again. The wound on my head had been bleeding out for a good while now and I could feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. 

"JUST SHUT UP! YOU TOLD THEM! YOU TOLD THEM ABOUT ME!" He growled and I shook my head and cried again. 

"I didn't tell anyone anything…I d-don't even k-know you!" I cried out again and yanked against the ropes but to no avail. 

"SHUT UP!" His hand came down across my face and I blacked out yet again. 

[Frank's P.O.V.]

I ended up back at the park just like Gee said I would. I guess I was pretty worthless now…I couldn't do anything to help them anymore, but stand there and watch as they struggled through their lives. I sat down in the dirt where my body had lain and I lay back, staring up at the canopy of the trees. This was oddly the only place I felt really relaxed, right on top of my deathbed basically. Speaking of which…I hadn't been to the graveyard in a long time. I got up and brushed the dirt off of my jeans and started walking. I felt two presences appear on either side of me and I already knew that they were Jack and Jamie. 

"Going to the cemetery?" Jamie asked and I nodded. "Mind if we come with?" I shook my head no and kept walking. We three walked in silence to the gates of the cemetery before walking entirely through them and heading off to the left. Jack's family and his body were buried here, we stopped there first always because he was so young. I watched him as he stood in front of his own tombstone, placing one of his little hands on top of it and then walking back to me and we moved on to Jamie's tomb, his gravestone was far more deteriorated than Jack's or mine. He had been dead the longest of us all after all. He tipped his head to himself and then we walked to my grave. I had to stare at the name on the tombstone for at least half an hour for it to sink in that I wasn't ever coming back. That my body was probably just bones by now and there was no way I could ever return. This was me now, stuck in the in-between. I sighed and kneeled down, resting my head against my tombstone. 

"Rest in peace my friend." I cried out. It didn't seem like me, that body lying in the dirt felt like it was somebody else, just not me. I looked to Jamie and he just smiled sympathetically, pacing a gentle hand on my left shoulder. 

"How come you two aren't bloodied up like I am? Why do Natalie and I have to suffer by wearing our own blood continuously while you two look spick and span?!" I asked frustratedly. 

"That's easy Frank. Imagine yourself in the clothes you died in." I nodded and pictured the suit I had been dressed in the day of the funeral and I when I looked down I nearly jumped out of my skin, well… you get the point. I was wearing the tuxedo I had been dressed in when I died. I looked up to Jamie and Jack and they were both smiling. "All about will power." Jamie said before turning and walking away, fading away.


	14. Chapter 14

I stood in front of my grave for hours after Jack and Jamie had disappeared. I couldn't bring myself to touch the cold headstone again. I found out that if I didn't keep the thought in the back of my mind, my clothes changed back to the ones I had actually died in, which was fine with me for now. I felt like I deserved to be reminded of my death but at the same time it wasn't my fucking fault. I hadn't done anything. I heard the shuffle of feet on the small path near my grave and turned to see who it was. It was the old man, the man who had told Gerard to move on when he sat and cried beside my open casket. He looked straight at me. 

"So has he?" 

"What?" I asked, looking around to see if anyone was near me. 

"Moved on. Has Gerard moved on or is he still hanging on to your death?" I noticed the unusually blue tint to the man's skin and knew he was just like me, deceased but unable to move on. 

"Hopefully not, but I don't really care right now. He said some things to me that I don't even want to talk about right now." I snapped, folding my arms across my chest. The wind picked up around us and I felt the slight energy drain as it did. I sighed and made myself relax. I glanced to where the old man had been but he was gone and I was alone yet again. I turned to leave and someone walked right through me at that exact moment. I turned and froze at who I saw. She looked so much older than I remembered her and she was crying as quietly as possible. A single rose was held in her grasp as she turned and stared at my grave, her small frame shaking as she sobbed. I just stared in awe at her. This is the woman I hadn't seen in over a year, the woman that raised me but never really paid much attention to me, and the woman that didn't even bother to show up at my funeral. Mom. She looked like she had aged by twenty years and she clutched a pack of cigarettes in her free hand. I watched as she held the rose to her face and cried quietly. 

"Oh Frankie…my little Frankie…I'm so sorry…I was the worst mother and I could have cared less if you had run away back then…I've changed Frank, I promise I have. Ever since I found out you were…dead…I quit drinking and I gave up all my bad habits…" She glanced down to the pack of cigarettes. "Almost all of them. I just…I wish you would come back to me! I need you Frankie…I need my little boy back!" She fell to her knees in front of my grave and stroked the soft grass that had grown over the dirt. She crawled up to the headstone and leaned against it, pressing her cheek against the cold stone. I hadn't seen this side of her since I was six, the side that I had loved up until she started drinking. I watched her for a bit before giving in and sitting beside her, touching my headstone again and feeling a small pulse pass through my body as I did. An image suddenly flashed in my head and I almost screamed as it did. My body started to tremble violently and I felt like every bone in my body was going to shatter. The image was fuzzy but suddenly all the pain raging through my body stopped and the image cleared. It was a casket, an empty casket in the middle of an empty grassy field. I noticed I was standing now and wondered briefly if I had gone back in time again. But where was I? I spun around, trying to look for some sort of landmark that I recognized but there was nothing, just this auburn casket sitting in the middle of a green field. I turned around to face the casket again and almost had a heart attack. There was a person standing there, wearing a black tuxedo with a red rose pinned to the left pocket. I noticed his hands first, tattoos covered his knuckles, but I couldn't see what they spelled. The person was just a haze, blurry and faceless. 

"Who are you?" I asked hesitantly, not knowing if this was going to be like in scary movies where the faceless haze suddenly jumps at you, razor sharp teeth bared and eyes completely glazed over. The kind that scared you shitless then you laugh at later. 

"What're you doing Frank?" The faceless person asked. 

"Uh…I'm standing in a field not knowing where the hell I am. What are you doing Mr. uh...who the hell are you?" The person started walking towards me and as he got closer he became clearer and clearer and my eyes started to bug out of my head as he was clear enough to recognize. 

"I'm you Frank. Well, I was you. We were one in the same once until you left me…you left me to be buried in the ground." I stared at…myself. From head to toe he was me, a spitting image, right down to the perfect curl near my left ear and the detailed scorpion on the right side of my neck. Except for one obvious difference, he looked like he had been beaten up, cuts were bleeding on his cheeks, he had two black eyes, and his lower lip was split where my lip ring was resting currently. I played with the metal of my lip ring as I looked at the bleeding gash on his lip. "What're you doing Frank? You're wasting time!" My body shouted at me, the haze starting to envelop it again. "You have to save us Frank! Gerard will help! Go! Now!" I stared dumfounded at him. 

"What the hell are you talking about!?" I shouted as he started to disappear further. 

"Dig it up Frank! Our grave! Dig it up!" I started to ask why but he was gone, faded into nothingness. I felt like I was falling suddenly and next thing I knew I was sitting up suddenly with a small scream. 

"Dig it up?" I looked to my grave and noticed that Mom wasn't there anymore and it was pitch black outside…how long had I been gone? "Why the fuck does he want me to dig it up?" 

"You better do it Frank." I screamed when I heard the voice and I turned to see Jamie standing there. 

"GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! ENOUGH WITH PEOPLE POPPING UP OUT OF NOWHERE TODAY!" I shouted, feeling relieved to have that off my chest and admittedly it did help calm my nerves. 

"Better now?" He said calmly, not at all phased.

"Yeah…sorry. I just don't understand anything that's going on anymore! Gerard almost dies and now he can see me, Natalie died, Mikey is missing, I keep fucking jumping back in time or limbo or whatever the hell that just was, my fucking mom appears out of nowhere for a year, and now my 'body' is telling me to fucking dig up my own grave! AGGHH! It's too much! It's fucking too much! I mean…I barely got over my own fucking death!" I grabbed hold on my hair with both hands and pulled on it, tears started pouring down my face. 

"Frank…I don't know what any of that means but its probably important. When you calm down just think about one thing at a time…I don't know what else to tell you." I felt his hand on my shoulder and when I looked up he was gone. I sighed and relaxed back against my headstone. 

"Why does everything have to be so messed up?" I banged my fists down on the grass at my sides.


	15. Chapter 15

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

"I'm such a fucking idiot." I held my head in my hands as I sat there on the hospital bed, fully dressed and ready to be released in about an hour or so. "Why the hell did I say that to him?! GOD GERARD YOU IDIOT! WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?" I growled angrily. I had no clue why I had to say what I did. Of course Frank is still human but…why the hell did I have to remind him that he was dead…never coming back for real. I really wanted someone to hit me right now, to slap some sense into my stupid head, but what I wanted more was to see Frank. I wanted to apologize to him, beg him for forgiveness, but he hadn't come back since yesterday. I had a feeling he wasn't going to come back and that I would have to go looking for him. He could be anywhere in this godforsaken town right now, knowing that I'd probably come looking for him he was probably going to hide. I'd do it anyways, I'll comb the whole city just to find him and Mikey for that matter. "Mikey…where the hell are you..." A tear slipped down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away. 

"You alright Gerard?" I looked up to see Mason standing in the doorway. I shook my head no.

"I said something to Frank that I shouldn't have…he hasn't come back yet." I sighed and brushed a few more tears away. "A-and now m-my brother is m-missing and I-I just want him back!" I broke down into a full onslaught of tears and Mason came over and sat beside me, allowing me to lean against him and cry into his shirt. 

"Gerard, I don't know the relationship between you and Frank…how close you guys were…are…but I do know that the best thing you can do is apologize. I have met other ghosts and though people generally think they are frightening and evil and that they don't have feelings anymore…they do. If anything their emotions are more powerful. When they are happy they are really happy but when they are upset or hurt…its like a living hell to them. They are tormented and they really do need someone to be there for them or they tend to lose themselves. Anything said about them that is negative tends to haunt them for days, months, and sometimes years…its pretty hard for them to get over it. Really Gerard…just apologize and it will mean worlds to Frank. As for Mikey, we'll find him Gerard. He'll be alright I promise." He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and squeezed before standing up and leaving the room. He was right, I needed to apologize to Frank. I would never have said that if I wasn't so damn angry…not at him…but for the fact that I didn't know where my little brother was. I grabbed my hair in my fists again and growled at myself. 

"You're such an idiot Way! God! Think before you speak you damn idiot!" I held my hair for a minute before letting my arms slip to my sides and sighing deeply. "I'm sorry Frankie…I truly am." I breathed. 

"I accept your apology." I heard a breathy voice and turned towards where I thought it was coming from but no one was there. I watched the walls and suddenly he stepped through, hands in his pockets. "I didn't mean to get so angry…I just…its hard Gee. I don't want to be dead…it sucks!" I watched a tear stream down his cheek, collecting fragments of blood before dripping off and vanishing into thin air mid fall. I ran over to him, throwing my arms around him before the thought that I would slip right through him crossed my mind. I didn't though, my arms wound around his shoulders and he pressed his face into my chest. 

"I'm so sorry Frank. I didn't mean to say what I did. I was just upset about Mikey and-" 

"Save it Gerard. We're both at fault here. You slipped up and I overreacted. We're even." He pulled away, wiping ghostly tears from his cheeks and sniffling before a half assed smile spread across his face. The smile quickly dissipated though and was replaced with what appeared to be nervousness. 

"What's wrong Frank?" He glanced up at me and his fingers scratched his chin, something he did when he was unsure of what to say. 

"Gee…I-I need your help. It's kind of important and I can't ask anyone else to help. If you can do this I'll keep looking for Mikey in the meantime so we'll get both done at once." He was talking so low I had to lean in to hear a word he was saying. 

"What is it Frank?" I raised a quizzical eyebrow at him.

"Gerard, I need you to d-dig up m-my b-body." He choked out and watched for my reacton. My eyes went wide and my jaw dropped. 

"ARE YOU CRAZY!? WHY WOULD I DO THAT?!" I threw my hands up around me and he just took a step back in shock at my intense reaction but he sighed like he also expected it. 

"Gerard please…I just…I need you to do this for me. Please." He stared right into my eyes, and I stared right back, slightly seeing the wall through him all of a sudden. 

"Frank? Uh…you're uh…you're goin see through buddy." He looked down at his hands and his eyes widened, he was becoming more and more invisible with each passing second. 

"The fuck?" He glanced up at me. "Gerard just listen real quick. Meet me at my grave in an hour please, please just do it! Bring a shovel!" I watched as Frank dissipated right in front of me and I stood there for a moment, just staring, before I snapped out of it. 

"Great. I'm going grave digging. What the fuck is going on around here?" I turned and grabbed my pile of clothes that mom had so thoughtfully brought me and headed to the adjoining bathroom of my hospital room. 

[Frank's P.O.V]

"What the hell was that?" I looked around the park in confusion. I hadn't rebounded to the park in a long time. 

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" I turned to see Jamie come running towards me, a huge grin was plastered across his face and I cocked my head in confusion. There was another boy about his age running alongside him, wearing a present day army outfit, had short blonde hair and green eyes. "Frank this is Dillon, Dillon, Frank." Dillon held his hand out and I hesitantly shook it. "Dillon died in the war a few months ago. How come you didn't tell me there was a war going on?" He folded his arms and glared at me and I just shrugged. 

"Uh cause I don't really pay attention to that kind of stuff anymore? Jamie just look in any dumpster and I'm sure you would find something about the war. In the meanwhile I'm trying to figure out why I just bounced back to the park again." I looked down at my hands, they looked solid, a little fuzzy around the edges but mostly solid. 

"You bounced back to the park? I thought you could leave the park freely now?" 

"I can! I don't know what happened though. I was talking to Gerard in the hospital and I started fading and bounced back here. Speaking of Gerard I have to go meet him at the graveyard. You wanna come?" I raised an eyebrow quizzically at Jamie and he nodded eagerly, looking to his new buddy Dillon. 

"Let's go Dillon! I can show you my grave! It's pretty damn sweet." Jamie was acting like a totally different person. I'd never seen him this giddy since I met him a year ago and it was kind of unnerving. 

"Or you can watch my best friend dig up my body…" I mumbled and felt Jamie's hand on my shoulder.

"He's really going to do it?" He whispered and I shrugged and nodded. "Well…how do you feel about…y'know…seeing your corpse again?" I hadn't really felt anything about it till now. I guess I felt a bit sad now that I think about it and scared too. 

"I dunno Jamie…scared, excited, sad…its kind of a range of emotions. I'm scared cause I don't really want to see what happened to me after I died, excited because I get to see myself again, and sad because…because I died in the first place." I kept walking and exited the boundaries of the park, crossing the street and walking down it for a few minutes before turning left and entering the front gates of the graveyard. I don't know why I was walking here, I could always just bounce right to my grave but I guess I am walking cause I'm nervous. I eyed my grave and saw a pale face framed by midnight black hair looking at me, hands in his hoodie pocket and a sad expression. I walked over to him and half assed a smile but he didn't return it. I didn't expect him to because I could tell just by looking at him that he was feeling the same thing I was, probably a bit more sad though. 

"Frank? You sure you wanna do this?" He whispered as I eyed the shovel lying beside my headstone.

"No. I don't want to do this, but apparently I have to." I looked up at the sky for a moment. It was getting dark and I didn't want Gerard to have to stay out here all night, but I also didn't want him getting caught. I turned to Jamie and Dillon. 

"Hey can you guys keep an eye out around us. I don't want Gee getting caught." Dillon was staring behind me at Gerard and I turned my head to see Gerard was looking back at him one eyebrow raised. "Yeah Gerard can see us…he died momentarily." 

"Cool." Dillon breathed then turned with Jamie to watch the graveyard. I looked back at Gerard then glanced at the shovel. He sighed and bent over and picked it up. 

"I'm sorry you have to do this Gerard…I would if I could but obviously I can't." 

"Frank, just tell me why I'm doing this." He practically groaned as he put the tip of the shovel against the grass over my grave and pressed down. 

"It sounds weird but…my body told me to dig it up. I-I have these weird moments in time where I just kind of vanish into almost like another dimension or sometimes back in time. I tend to jump back in time more but this last time I was standing near this coffin and my body showed up and was telling me to dig up our grave. He sounded kind of desperate too. It sounds dumb but I think its important to find out why." Gerard just nodded as he shoveled the first scoop of dirt and grass out of the way.


	16. Chapter 16

I watched as Gerard dug down deeper and deeper into my grave, hating every minute of anxiety. I just wanted this to be done with, to be finished but it wasn't and I couldn't do anything to help the process along.

"I feel like this could go all the way to China." Gee's muffled voice came from the hole in the ground. I walked to the edge and he looked up at me, dirt clinging to his hair, skin, and clothes.

"Well then there would definitely be something wrong." I smirked and he laughed lightly. He scooped away another pile of dirt and began another shovel when we both heard a loud thud. My imaginative heart thudded harshly in my chest, painfully actually. I clutched my chest and Gerard raised an eyebrow at me. 

"Frank? You alright?" I just nodded frantically. 

"Yeah yeah I'm good keep going." He rolled his eyes at me.

"Yes master." He said in a monotone voice, resembling Frankenstein, that both had us laughing loudly and I jumped down into the hole and put my hand over his mouth and my own. I held up one finger trying to shush us both but he kept chuckling and I kept trying to hold back my ridiculous giggle. He put the tip of the shovel back on the dirt and pressed down, causing the thud again. My heart seemed to clench every time the shovel touched the object buried under the thin layer of dirt. "Prolly just a rock." Gee said absently as he used his hands to start brushing away the dirt. 

"I don't think so Gee." I whispered as he swiped the last bit of dirt away, revealing mahogany wood. I started at the once shiny wood now exposed underneath us and I had the realization that we were literally standing on my casket. Gerard was expressionless, just staring at the wood as his finger traced the grains of it. He looked up at me, his eyes sparkling as I saw the buildup of tears in his eyes. "Gerard please don't…don't cry…" I kneeled down and he burst into tears at my words. 

"I'd be heartless if I didn't cry while looking at my best friend's casket." He stroked the wood and I began to wish I had never asked him to do this. 

"Gee, look I'm right here. I'm alright." He just cried harder and glared up at me. 

"You're not alright Frank! You're dead! I find it hard to believe that you think this is alright!" He put his hand down through mine on the wood and we both shuddered at the feeling of his hand resting in mine. "I can't even touch you, hug you…nothing. When I'm with you…my body is constantly on edge and I can't control it because it knows that you shouldn't be here and it's not natural. Now…now I'm sitting on your casket…your body is right underneath me and…and…this is so wrong Frank…we shouldn't have done this." He sobbed and I wished more than anything that I could hug him and tell him it was all just dream and he'd wake up and none of it had happened. 

"I don't know what to say to you Gerard…if I could I'd be hugging you right now but…I'd only cause you to freeze your ass off if I tried. I'm sorry okay? I didn't want you to have to do this but who else would? I mean I would if I could even move the dirt myself but you know…" I gestured to my somewhat see through hands. "Let's…just get this over with so you can go home and wash this away from your memories."

"I don't want to forget a moment Frank." He mumbled before brushing the rest of the dirt off of my coffin's lid. He dug out a space from the sides where he could stand so he wasn't on the coffin and then he turned back to face it and glanced at me. I nodded and he sighed grabbing the edge of the lid and yanking on it. The lid moved slightly and I doubled over as my heart throbbed again. He stopped when he saw me. "Frank!?" 

"Just keep going Gerard!" I growled and he nodded and yanked against it again. The lid was slowly pulled up and off. Gerard wouldn't look and I didn't want to, plus I was too busy being in pain. Guess this is what happens when you're near your dead body again. I forced myself to open my eyes and look into the casket and I nearly screamed when I did. "G-Gerard…" I shuddered. 

"I don't want to look Frankie…please don't make me." He was crying again. 

"Gerard just look. Please." He shuddered then opened his eyes and looked down. His eyes practically bugged out of his head. "Frank…where…" 

"I-I don't know." It was gone. My body…it wasn't here. We looked to each other, staring wide eyed, then back to the empty red velvet lined casket. 

"I-I SAW IT! AT YOUR FUNERAL! YOU WERE IN IT I SWEAR!" Gerard started shouting and I had to clap a hand over his mouth, which really didn't do anything but send shivers down his spine. 

"I saw it too Gee. I was there, I saw my body get lowered into the ground and I watched them bury me…h-how…" I heard light footsteps and looked up to see Jamie and Dillon walk up to us. Jamie's eyes widened as he looked down into the ground and he glanced at me and I shrugged. 

"How in the world could your body not be here!?" He glared down at the open casket. 

"I dunno but…we…I have to find it." 

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

"P-please…s-stop…" I choke out from my partially constricted throat. Another fist connected with my face, causing a loud snapping sound and my jaw suddenly burst with pain, blood flowing out between my teeth. 

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" The slightly brown, ugly, crooked teeth snapped just inches from my face. The squeak of sneakers signaled the man's retreat into the other room and I let my pent up sobs escape. I looked around the room again, seeing gurney after gurney lined against the walls. There were bodies on each one of them, covered in white sheets. Some of them were still, unmoving but others would twitch occasionally, telling me that they were still alive. The moving ones all had IV's attached to them and the man would come in periodically and inject the IV with some form of medication. He was keeping them asleep, I think…but for what? I was tied down to a chair in the middle of the room, handcuffs attaching my hands and feet to the arms and legs of the chair. The worst of it though…I was forced to face an empty gurney directly across the room from me. I closed my eyes and sobbed again, begging for someone to find me, begging for Gerard to come and save me, but my hopes were dashed each time the door opened to reveal that ugly faced man.


	17. Chapter 17

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

"Frank? Frank would you please talk to me?" He was standing there, just staring at the wall in my room, not the slightest hint of movement. He was perfectly quiet too, his eyes were staring off into space and growing darker by the second. "Frank? Come on…FRANK!" I shouted but he still remained frozen to his spot, his form becoming slightly more see through than usual. A slight breeze started to pick up in my room and loose papers on my desk started to flutter. "Frank?" His eyes turned pitch black as he just stood there. I actually started to get nervous, his mind was elsewhere but it was affecting where he stood now. I jumped off the bed, dropping my laptop to the floor and ran over to him. I waved my hand in front of his eyes and did anything I thought would make him snap out of it, including shoving my hands through his chest repeatedly. He had actually looked normal before this started, the blood that was normally covering his arm and entire left side of his face had been gone, but as he stood here now. The blood started to trickle down his face again, making its way back down his form. It was utterly terrifying to watch. I practically screeched like a little girl when blood started oozing from his mouth. "FRANK!" I screamed as loud as I could and he jumped suddenly, the wind instantly dissipating and his eyes going back to normal. I just sank to the floor, feeling like the energy of the room had all been sucked out, including my own. 

"Gerard? Are you okay?!" Frank sunk down to his knees in front of me, a worried expression painting his features. 

"Where the hell were you?" I sputtered out between gasps for air, my throat feeling like a I had a pair of hands wrapped around it. 

"What?" He whispered, his form regaining some of its solidity. 

"Your mind was definitely somewhere else…what the hell happened? I thought you were gonna rip my room to shreds with that wind." His eyes just widened as I stumbled back up on to my feet, my head passing through his on accident and giving me what felt like brain freeze. 

"I-I don't remember…" He looked up at me, obviously confused. 

"You started bleeding again and then your mouth started bleeding…what the hell happened!?" His fingers went to his mouth and wiped the blood from his lips, staring at it as he pulled his fingers away. 

"I don't remember Gee…" He whispered. I sat there and breathed heavily for a little bit before my breath returned to normal. 

"Well lets try and not let that happen again, it was scary watching you lose it." He just nodded solemnly and turned towards my bed, walking over and sitting down on it. My eyes caught sight of a framed picture sitting on my nightstand. It was a picture of Frank, Mikey, and I at the Warped tour a few years ago. "Frank…do-do you think he's okay?" Frank glanced to where I was looking then back to me. 

"It's Mikey, Gerard...I'm sure he's just fine. That guy can hit pretty hard when he wants. Remember when he knocked me out…last year, a few weeks before…before the park incident. I was being a total spazz and he had enough and just plain smacked me, I was out like a light." I just smiled and chuckled a bit at the memory. Frank was on a caffeine buzz, something he really didn't need cause he was so hyper normally, and had kept trying to jump on Mikey's back or push him sideways and Mikes was already pretty ticked off cause he had been punched by the school bully again that day. I had watched as Mikey pulled his fist back and slammed Frank in the side of the face in his moment of anger. His eyes had gone wide instantly though and he fell to the ground trying to get Frank to open his eyes, crying and apologizing all the way until Frank woke up about an hour later. 

"Yeah…he's okay…he has to be. We have to find him though Frank. Mikey is strong but only on occasion…if he's hurt he won't do anything. I know him Frankie, he's just…he needs us. I know he does." Frank stood up and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me and causing me to shiver. I couldn't feel anything but the cold emanating from his body, but it comforted me somehow.

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

It moved…one of the bodies actually started convulsing from under one of the sheets. It scared me so much I screamed and the door was suddenly thrown open. The man came in and I instantly shut my eyes and turned my face to the side, waiting to receive a punch to the face again. It never came though, I peeked one eye open and saw him holding the writhing body down with his hands, the sheets had been pulled down below the persons face and the end of it shoved in the person's mouth, probably to keep them from biting their tongue off. There was blood soaking the sheets around their mouth already though, the person had obviously bitten their lip or tongue just enough. It seemed like forever before the person stopped wriggling but they did and the man recovered their face with the bloody sheet, before swiftly exiting the room, thankfully, without looking at me once. I just stared at the gurney holding the person. Their left hand suddenly fell out from under the sheets and I yelped and scooted the chair back a little bit. It didn't move again though, the limb just hung limply down. There were tattoos on the back of their fingers and after making sure that the person was indeed finished moving I scooted the chair a little closer to see if I could make out what it spelled. The index finger had a "W" on it that's for sure. The others were harder to make out and I squinted at them for a long while before making out the other three letters. Two "E's" and a "N." WEEN…why the hell would they have WEEN tattooed on their fingers…doesn't make sense. The colors and font looked so familiar though…where the hell had I seen it before…had to be someone I'd come across enough to notice. My eyes went wide as it finally clicked in my brain. 

"FRANK!"


	18. Chapter 18

FRANK!" I screamed out hoping he'd wake from his coma again, hoping that he'd stir at least a little bit. I watched his hand, the steady rise and fall of his chest, anything that would be easy to see if he woke up. "FRANK!" I screamed again, moving the chair forwards as much as I could, as close to his hand as I could. Tears were pouring down my eyes, he was alive…he was here! How the hell he got here after being pronounced dead and buried I don't know, but I don't care…he's alive. I got close enough for the tips of his fingers to brush my knee. I leaned forward in the chair and grabbed the sheet with my teeth then started scooting the chair back before jerking my head and pulling the sheet just enough so that it slipped from his form. I spit the sheet out of my mouth and scooted back closer. I looked over him, recognizing the black suit he had been buried in, dirt still clinging to it in various spots of his clothes. His black faux hawk had grown out, his hair reaching his shoulders now and entirely black, laying in tangles around his head. There was dried blood sticking to the side of his face and fresh blood covering his chin. His eyes were closed and it broke my heart because you could tell he was in pain…his head wound looked like it had taken a long time to heal…they had all thought it was a bullet wound but now that I saw it up close it looked more like he'd been hit with the end of the gun. Tears poured down my eyes. "F-Frank...Frankie…please wake up…." 

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" A familiar rough voice screamed out from behind me and I turned my head just in time to meet his fist before slumping forward and blacking out. 

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

Frank was pacing the room, back and forth back and forth…it was getting really fucking annoying. 

"FRANK GODAMIT! STAY STILL!" He looked at me for a brief second before coming and plopping down on the bed beside me. 

"Okay so we know he was at the park and then I watched him go to the car…what the hell could have happened between those two points? I mean I didn't see anyone ominous in the park." Frank sighed and put his head in his hands, much like he did whenever he used to wait on the picnic table in the park. His black faux hawk fell over the backs of his hands, curling downwards. I heard a light sob and my eyes flicked to Frank's face, a glinting tear slipped down his face before falling off his chin and dissipating into thin air. 

"Frank?" I wished I could put my hand on his back, comfort him somehow. He looked utterly broken, crying into his hands like that and there wasn't a thing I could do but try and talk to him. 

"I'm so sorry Gerard…this is all my fault. If I hadn't answered you guys on that stupid Ouija board then Mikey would probably still be here and you wouldn't be here and none of this stupid shit would have happened." I just stared at him wide eyed while he sobbed. He really thought this was all his fault? How could it be? So far as anyone outside Mikey, Frank's ghostly friends, and I were concerned Frank was gone forever, not still lingering around town. 

"Frank, none of this is your fault. If anything its my fault. I brought Mikey into this not you." Frank just tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling, tears streaming down the side of his face. I looked down at my shoes giving him a few moments to compose himself. 

"Gerard I-" Frank stopped mid sentence.

"Frank?" I turned my head to look at him and when I did he had fallen on his back on the bed, his eyes shut…like he just passed out. "FRANK?" I crawled up next to his head and snapped my fingers a few times. The hell? Ghosts don't pass out!? I mean I don't think they can since nothing can affect their body anymore. "Frank!?" 

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

My eyes fluttered open and a second later I was screaming out in pain. A fist had connected to my gut and the chair tipped back sending me crashing to the ground, legs still firmly tied to the chair's legs. A hand shot down and grabbed my shirt, yanking me and the chair back upright by it before another hand accompanied it on my shirt, yanking me forwards so I was face to face with the ugly brute from before. 

"You like what you see?" The man snarled before moving out of the way, a body lay curled up in the fetal position against the wall, black hair falling in front of its face. My eyes went wide. "He's a fun one I must say…plenty of fight in that kid yet…he'll pay though…he'll pay for turning me in and so will the others…including you." He growled, spit landing on my cheeks. He went over to Frank's body and layed a hand on his shoulder. 

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!" I screeched and he turned his head, raising an eyebrow at me. 

"What did you say?" He spat, moving back towards me. 

"I said get the fuck away from him." I gritted my teeth and glared at him, ready to receive any form of punishment he would dole out so long as he didn't touch Frank. He seemed to see this in my eyes though cause he glanced back at Frank and grinned from ear to ear, moving towards Frank again. He grabbed the collar of Frank's tuxedo jacket and yanked him upwards, holding him up before propping him against the wall. He removed Frank's jacket, tossing it at my feet with a smirk. I just watched in horror as he removed his white blood stained button down. He pulled out a pocket knife and stood to the side of Frank, grasping Frank's hair and yanking it back so his neck was exposed. "DON'T! FRANK! FRANK WAKE UP!" I started screaming, hoping that wherever Frank was he'd somehow be able to hear my voice and wake up. Through my haze of tears I saw Frank's eyes flutter open. 

"M-Mikey?" His voice was hoarse and scratchy but it was him. He was awake. 

"FRANK! RUN!" The man pressed the edge of the blade against Frank's stomach and violently slashed him across the chest, causing a loud scream to rip through Frank's throat. The man let go of Frank who promptly collapsed to the floor, blood starting to seep across the hardwood. The man walked up next to me. 

"Next word out of you and I'll kill him in front of you then I'll kill you. Got it?" He snarled and I just let my head drop forward. He moved over to where Frank lay and picked him up, resting him back on a gurney before attaching him to the IV again and injecting an anesthetic. Frank's form went limp and I let my eyes close. 

[Natalie's P.O.V.]

I had been at his house for days, Justin's that is. He just sat there on the couch watching his cell phone, waiting for it to buzz and have it be a text message from me but there was nothing. I could only sit beside him and watch as the tears poured down his cheeks. He knew I wasn't coming back…he'd seen it on the news the other day. He had almost committed suicide that night, the stitched up slash across his wrist was proof of that. 

_"Justin, turn on the news." His mother walked into the living room, tears already streaming down her pale cheeks. He raised a questioning eyebrow before grasping the TV remote and flicking it on. She told him what channel to turn to and he did. My mom was immediately on the screen, her eyes red and puffy from crying. I sat beside Justin, feeling the energy in the room change and watching his whole body slump._

_"Seventeen year old Natalie Centrito was found dead yesterday…" Those words were all it took for Justin to break down. Tears streamed down his face as he snatched his phone up, quickly dialing my number. I put my hands on his shoulders, leaning against his back in an effort to comfort him but I could feel all of his sadness, it was changing the atmosphere._

_"Please pick up! Please pick up!" He shouted frantically as the phone kept ringing and ringing. "NATALIE COME ON!" His mom jumped and quickly removed herself from the living room. After twenty calls he slumped back against the couch, tears streaming down his face. "Natalie…" He sobbed for hours and I just lay myself beside him, my head resting on his shoulder. He made a sudden move and bolted upstairs, I quickly followed. I got through the door before he slammed it shut and dead bolted it. I watched him in his sudden fury as he threw things around the room. His lamp shattered against the wall, his box of video games was thrown through the window, shattering the glass. It was terrifying. It broke my heart to see him so angry, so sad. He yanked a drawer open and pulled out a pocketknife. He sat down on the bed, twirling it in his hands for a good while before pulling the blade out. He brought it to rest on the tender skin of his wrist._

_"Justin don't do this! Please!" I started to beg even though I knew he wouldn't hear me. "Justin please!" He yanked the blade fiercely across his skin, dark red blood immediately bubbling up and spilling over. "JUSTIN!" I grabbed his wrist, trying to put pressure on it but it just seeped right through me as if I wasn't even there. His eyes started to flutter shut and he fell back on the bed, his legs dangling off the end. "JUSTIN!" I screamed, a slight breeze starting to whip around the room and his eyes flew open. He watched as the papers on his desk fluttered and started to shift as the wind picked up._

_"Natalie…" He whispered out. I looked around the room before my eyes landed on his laptop, resting open on his desk. I went over and grabbed it, pouring all my strength into the device and it flicked on, the bright screen illuminating the dark room. I concentrated on the laptop even though all I wanted to do was make sure he was safe. I forced his Word program open and forced the letters to be typed on the keyboard._

_**JUSTIN!** It read out in bold letters. It was enough to make him grab the thin sheet of his bed and muster enough strength to wrap it tightly around the wound and apply pressure to stop the flow. _

_"NATALIE!" He dragged himself closer to his desk on the bed._

_**GET HELP!** He didn't move. **GET HELP!** I typed again and he finally started screaming for help. His mom ran up the stairs and kicked the door open after a few tries before seeing all the blood and quickly calling an ambulance. As they waited for it to come I curled up on the bed beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. He seemed to look down at me, probably feeling something beside him. He stared for a good while before the ambulance arrived and he decidedly passed out._


	19. Chapter 19

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

I watched Frank lay there motionless on my bed, knowing that I could scream and shout all I wanted and he wouldn't hear me. I felt completely useless and that fact bothered me to the very core. I couldn't touch him, couldn't shake him to wake up, and I couldn't wake him by calling his name. I hate it. I hate being useless especially when its my best friend that might need my help. I just sat and waited, waited for him to stir in some way and let me know he was still there. After about twenty minutes of watching him I glanced over to my desk, taking my eyes away from him for mere seconds and suddenly my room was filled with the sound of screaming. I whipped my head back around right as Frank's body arched up off the bed and he screamed again, tears pouring down his cheeks and his arms wrapping tightly around his chest. His shirt started to darken in color around his arms and when he pulled them away not only was the left arm covered in blood as per usual, but his right arm was now dripping with it as well. 

"Frank! FRANK!" I started shouting, passing my hands through his body and hoping I could get some form of reaction and make him snap out of it. "FRANK!" I shouted again and he slumped back down on the bed, his arms falling to his sides and his hair laying wildly around his head. The position reminded me all too much of the way he had been lying when I found him by the tree in the park a year ago. His body suddenly jolted and he shot upright. 

"MIKEY!" He screamed out and the lamp in my room exploded simultaneously. His eyes were wide and he was gasping for breath, clutching his blood soaked shirt in his fist. 

"Frank? Frank, what happened?" His eyes met mine and I could see the terror in his eyes. "Frank! Tell me!" I snapped.

"M-Mikey's alive…I don't know how but…I saw him Gerard. It was like I was there and I felt…alive. I could feel my heart beating and…he was there Gerard! The guy who killed me! HE HAS MIKEY!" Wind started to pick up in my room from his sudden burst of anger. 

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

"Please! Please don't!" I screamed as the man came closer towards me with the same knife he'd sliced Frank with. He'd cut the ropes from my wrists and ankles and had locked the secret door. It was just the two of us and a room full of people on gurney's…he was chasing me around the room like a cat chases a mouse. With barely anywhere to hide, I could only wait while he stalked me down. I was trapped against the walls in the furthest corner from where I thought the door was. Each advance he made towards me caused me to let out a little squeak and fresh tears to pour down my cheeks. My wrists hurt from where the knife had nicked my flesh as he angrily cut the ropes from them. He stepped closer again, not even three feet away now. "PLEASE! DON'T!" I screamed and he rushed up on me. I jumped out to the side surprisingly quickly and just barely got past him as he hit the wall. He growled furiously, turning towards me again as I scrambled backwards across the floor, trying to coordinate my limbs enough to get up on my feet, but I was too scared. I backed up against the opposite wall and grabbed the edge of two gurneys and hoisted myself to my feet. I slipped between a gurney and the wall, using it as a shield of sorts and praying that the person underneath wouldn't be harmed. 

I could see the outline of Frank's body under the gurney across the room and I quickly averted my eyes so the man wouldn't see how much I cared about my friend and use him against me again. He rushed me again and I pushed the gurney forwards into him and as he fell I grabbed the knife and held it out in front of me, my hands shaking around its warm handle. He got to his feet and approached me again. He wasn't frightened and there was the hideous gleam in his eye that told me he was enjoying this. Sick bastard.

"AGH!" He snarled and jumped on me. He froze once he was on top of me and after a few moments of me shoving him he fell to my side and I had the horrid realization that he wasn't moving…he wasn't even breathing. I rolled him over so he was facing up and screamed. I'd stabbed him with the knife, right through his left eyeball, the handle being the only part sticking out still. I'd killed him. I'd fucking killed him! He was my way out!

"FUCK! NO!" I screamed and kicked at his body, actually wishing for a second he was still alive. He knew the way out! I couldn't even see any traces of a door in the darkness of the room. "NO!" I screamed louder, banging my fists on his chest. I sat back and cried at the ceiling when I suddenly heard a burst of movement. A hand wrapped itself around my neck and shoved me on to the floor. 

"You'll pay for that!" The man growled and I screeched as his fist came down and connected with my face with a harsh crack. Pain shot through my jaw and I knew it was broken instantly. The man got up and gingerly touched the blade sticking out of his eye before hissing and sending a swift kick into my side before disappearing in the dark with a click as the hidden door shut. I curled up in a ball after dragging myself to a corner, under one of the gurneys, and cried until my body was too exhausted to keep me awake. 

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

"FRANK! FRANK! CALM DOWN!" I shouted over the rising breeze, he just glared at me momentarily before sighing and releasing his hold on the air around us. "Where is he Frank? Could you see where he was?" 

"No…no it was a room. There were gurneys everywhere with bodies lying on them and IV's were attached. They were all alive and Mikey was strapped to a chair in the center of the room. I couldn't see a door or an exit of any kind so it might be hidden in his house or somewhere else. Gerard I-I…this is my fault Gee!" Frank rambled quickly before he suddenly broke down, leaning against my body to which my shoulder promptly started to freeze. 

"Frank, stop it. I've told you before and I'll keep telling you. This is NOT your fault. Stop, beating yourself up over something you can't control! That energy is better used trying to find him." Frank looked up at me through hazel eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks and disappearing in thin air once they dropped off his chin. He nodded and then grabbed the hem of his shirt and raised it to his eyes to wipe away his tears when he paused, tugging the fabric slightly away from his skin to see it better. 

"The hell? Where'd all this blood come from?" He looked up at me and I shrugged before noticing that a part of his exposed flesh was oddly ragged looking. His gaze followed mine and he quickly threw off his shirt and dropped it to the floor, moving quickly to stand in my mirror. I cast a glance at the shirt, wondering how he was able to remove it cause I believed ghosts remained constantly the same, never really changing. The shirt seemed to meld with the floor before disappearing entirely. I looked up at Frank and my eyes went wide. In his reflection I could see his hand tracing a open, ugly, cut running across his torso. I walked up beside him and he turned so I could see it straight on. "Gerard…" Frank looked alarmed and I felt goosebumps rise up on my skin as the atmosphere started to get colder. 

"Where'd that come from Frank?" 

"Gerard…when I was in that room, that man grabbed me and sliced me across the chest in front of Mikey. I thought it was just some sick twisted dream because that part felt so surreal but…" He looked back down at the ragged flesh then met my eyes again. 

"How could a ghost be hurt though?" I whispered and Frank's shirt started to reappear on his body moments after. 

"We can't Gerard…we can't get hurt unless…" His jaw dropped and a shiver ran up my spine. 

"I'm alive."


	20. Chapter 20

"How can that be possible Frank? How could you be alive all this time, yet be a ghost simultaneously?!" Gerard was freaking out just about as much as I was. He was sitting down and standing up every two seconds just so he could pace the room again before sitting back down and repeating the process. 

"I don't know! I'm just as confused as you are!" I threw my hands up wildly around my head in frustration and happiness. 

"You said there were other people all attached to gurneys there too. Maybe he's keeping your body asleep somehow? More importantly…we have to find out how he even got a hold of your body. I mean…I fucking watched you get buried! I sat beside your coffin for hours after everyone else and I don't remember ever seeing anyone else there!" An image of Gerard leaning by my coffin, stroking the gold nameplate popped into my head and I quickly shook it away, not wanting to relive the heartache we'd both gone through. 

"I dunno, but…if he has gurneys maybe he works at a hospital? Would explain how he got all of them." I offered up and Gerard seemed to think it over for a bit before nodding and grabbing one of his notebooks, tearing a sheet out and digging for a pen. I saw the end of one sticking out from a pile of papers and went to grab it, momentarily forgetting I couldn't actually grasp it and sighing in disappointment as my fingers passed through it. "Gee, there's one right there." I pointed and he grabbed it, the side of his hand passing through my fingers. It infuriated me for some reason. Knowing I was alive somewhere…it just made me angry that I was stuck like this, not able to touch anything without passing through it. "UGH!" I growled and a short little gust of air blew through the room, sending stacks of papers flying. 

"Frank! Please just, I know its frustrating but please just calm down! I can't afford to make my room any messier than it already is." Gerard just sighed and sat down on his chair, crumpling some papers underneath him and scrawling words out across the page. He formed a list of possibilities and then moved to his computer, pulling up a new web browser and typing in _"hospitals/medical centers near Belleville, NJ."_ A list of them popped up on the search engine before he clicked on a link and brought up a page that listed them all, in order by distance to us, and printed it out, the printer moaned and groaned as it spit the page out. 

"Come on lets get to work." I nodded and Gerard stood, ready to burst out of his room but I grabbed his arm, well as much as I could and he froze on spot. 

"Yeah, uh I think you should probably change your clothes Gee. People are gonna start thinking you're homeless or something…and well, you've got grave dirt all over you still." Gerard looked down at the t-shirt and skinny jeans he had on and tried to brush the dirt away but I folded my arms and scowled at him. "I can wait five minutes Gerard. Get in the fucking shower and change your damn clothes then we'll go." Gee narrowed his eyes, attempting to glare me into submission but I just kept my arms folded and shifted all my weight to one foot, tapping the other impatiently. 

"DAMNIT! FINE!" I smirked and earned the middle finger from him as he stomped over to his dresser and grabbed a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom. 

"I know what your damn shampoo smells like Gerard so you better take a real fucking shower!" I shouted through the door. 

"OH YEAH WHAT IS IT!?" He snapped back just on the other side. 

"COCONUTS!" I giggled as I heard an exasperated sigh emanate from the bathroom then turned and walked up the stairs and down the hall into the kitchen to wait for him. I sat down on one of the stools and rested my head on the counter, I sighed, my breath caused a few napkins to flutter and then fall to the floor. Only then did I realize Mrs. Way was in the kitchen as well, hidden in the pantry as she scoured for something to eat. She was staring right at where the napkins had blown off the counter and I just stared back at her. She just cautiously walked up and picked them off the ground, laying them back in their place on the counter. I smirked and decided I'd have a little fun while waiting for Gerard. I focused on the napkins and used a little of my energy to whip up a small breeze and send them fluttering further across the floor. She squeaked in shock but then turned her head and glared at me, well where she probably thought there was something sitting. 

"Frank, if that's you stop knocking the damn napkins off the counter." She picked them up and placed them back on the counter and I just snickered and blew them off again. "HAHA SO FUNNY!" She was being sarcastic but I could see the hint of a real smile as she picked them back up, placing them across the kitchen then turning back to the sink located just in front of me on the island. "Frank, I'm sorry. It must suck being where you are now, not being able to be seen by anyone except for a select few. I honestly wish I could see you right now just so I could hug you and thank you for saving Gerard." If only she knew that Mikey was currently being tormented, beaten, abused…I could tell she was worried about him, she just wasn't going to show it. I'd heard her call the police a few times when we were upstairs, begging them to tell her if they'd found anything. They hadn't, not a clue as to the whereabouts of Mikey Way. 

Footsteps thundered up the stairs ten minutes later and I turned to see Gerard, wearing a black Misfits shirt and black skinny jeans as per his usual attire. His hair was still dripping, having not bothered to even towel it off, but I could smell the distinct odor of coconuts wafting off of him. I giggled and he shot a glare at me. 

"Shut up Frank." He snapped before throwing the dirty clothes clasped in his hands into the hamper in the laundry room. 

"Is he really here?" His mom piped up and Gerard nodded. 

"Yeah, the little fucker is sitting right there laughing at me cause I use coconut shampoo." His mom let loose a little snort and Gerard narrowed his eyes at her as well. She threw her hands up like she was being arrested and turned, walking out of the room. 

"Who wouldn't!?" She shouted back and I could see if not feel Gerard's embarrassment. 

"Haha calm down Gerard, would it help to know that I used to use shampoo that smelled like strawberries?" He giggled a little before laughing loudly. I shrugged and stood up, giggling a little as I did.

"Okay now we're even. Let's go." His voice regained its seriousness and we headed out into the garage, piling into Gerard's car before he backed out and sped off down the road towards the closest one. "First one's in Newark. Saint Michael's Medical Center. I take Washington Avenue right?" 

"No, make a u-turn, go to Union, and take a left." I pointed at a left hand turn lane where he could flip around but he just glared at me. 

"No, I take Washington Frank, it goes all the way down and turns into Broadway, it'll take us right there." 

"Gerard, you fucking dunce! Turn around and go to Union! It's easier to get there just turn around godamnit!" 

"NO!" 

"GERARD! YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING MISS THE TURN!" I snapped and he growled and yanked the wheel to the left and sped out into the intersection, hitting the brakes and flipping the car around.

"THERE! YOU HAPPY NOW!?" He shouted and I folded my arms and smirked. 

"Yup." I snapped back and he just rolled his eyes and sped on down to Union Avenue.


	21. Chapter 21

We arrived at Saint Michael's a half hour later, when really it should have been a quick fifteen-minute drive. SOMEBODY just couldn't listen to directions and had to have it his way, getting us lost before finally giving in. I glared over at Gerard and he just returned the action with a quick flip of his middle finger. 

"Don't say a word." He growled as we exited the car, knowing now that I had been right all along. I smirked, slamming the car door shut and walking alongside him until we reached the front door. I walked through it and Gerard almost did too. I burst out laughing as he almost collided with the glass door, not thinking obviously. "Shut up, fucker!" He snapped, loud enough for few passerbys to hear. 

"Ah man, that would have been fucking priceless." I giggled as we walked up to the front desk. A short woman with long, dark hair was humming contently to herself while she filled out some forms. Gerard cleared his throat and she jumped a little in her chair before sliding the little glass window open. 

"How can I help you?" She started grabbing a clipboard and a pen. 

"I'm not here for an appointment or anything, but I was wondering…have you had any gurney's or patients go missing in the past few years?" The woman's eyebrow rose up in question and she put the clipboard back where it had been sitting. 

"Not that I know of. May I ask why?" 

"Oh its nothing, I was just researching this…uh…thing…for- nevermind. Goodbye!" He quickly turned and headed for the exit, I just shot a glance at the woman and her head was cocked to the side as she watched Gee walked hurriedly towards the door. 

"Good job, Gee." I ran up beside him and kept pace until we reached the car. 

"We need an explanation as to why we're asking. I felt like a total dumbass just now." Gee fumbled with the car keys, rattling them unnecessarily before finally inserting the actual key to start the engine. 

"Sounded like one too." Gerard's eyes narrowed and I couldn't help but let the laughter bubbling up escape, further annoying him. 

"Dick." He grumbled and I just sighed, brushing a few tears away from my eyes dramatically. 

"Ok where too next Captain Way?" I snorted and he just rolled his eyes at me before pulling out his list of places and quickly marking off Saint Michael's. 

"Uh…East Orange General. It's just up the street." He folded his list and stuffed it back in his pocket. 

"Sure you know the way there or should we ask for directions?" I smirked and he looked like he would happily punch me in the face if he could. "Ah calm down Gee, just playing around." 

"I know, but I don't know how you can be so lax about the whole thing. We're searching for a killer Frank, your killer and my brother's kidnapper! We need to find him Frank! Stop being so godamn calm about the whole thing!" Way to kill the mood Gerard. My smile faded and I slumped back in my chair, feeling like I just wanted to meld with the fabric and disappear for a little while. Gee must have noticed my solemn expression because he sighed loudly and turned his body to face me. "I'm sorry, its just…" 

"Just drive Gerard." I snapped and he flinched before nodding and turning back to the wheel, quickly backing out of the space and driving down the road. 

The rest of the day was silent, neither of us saying a single word to the other. If he wanted me to be this way, fine. I would sure as hell be a complete angry dick about the whole situation. I allowed all my emotions to bubble up and mix into a fiery pot of anger, practically bursting at the seams every time I slammed the car door shut. We'd gone to ten different hospitals and nothing. Not even a fucking clue. No one had any gurney's or people or anything go missing in large quantities and I was past my breaking point finally. The last time I stepped out of the car I practically brought a tree down on it from the sudden gusts of wind my rage was causing. Gerard had been less than pleased when one of the branches scraped his car door as it fell beside the vehicle. I just kept walking towards the building, arms folded, glaring at anyone I passed even though they couldn't see me. I must have started to alter the temperature drastically cause Gerard's arms suddenly broke out with goosebumps and his teeth chattered slightly. 

"Frank, please stop." He chattered but I just ignored him. 

"You didn't want me to be happy, then fine. I'm not happy." I growled and he just rolled his eyes and rubbed his arms. 

"Its not that I don't want you to be happy…I just don't know how you can be. You're dead, my brother's kidnapped, and all because of the same man. I don't understand how you can be so cheery about it." He whispered and brought his hands to his face, exhaling on them in an attempt to warm them up. 

"I'm not happy about it Gerard, but clearly I can't afford to be angry about it either." I motioned to the trees bending in the wind and the little bumps covering his arms. 

"I'm sorry Frank. I don't like seeing you like this…I was just…frustrated I guess." I sighed and forced my body to relax, releasing the tension and hold on the wind. People walking anywhere in this parking lot must be quite confused at the sudden disappearance of the gusts of air. Gerard stopped rubbing his arms after a few minutes, just in time for us to walk into the last hospital on his list. We approached the front desk, like we'd done so many times today already. "Hi, I'm doing a journalism research type project…thing. I was wondering if you'd had any gurney's and or patients go missing from the hospital the past few years or so?" The woman started flipping through a record book and began to make a motion with her head to say no but then paused and held up a finger. 

"Wait, yes…last year we had three gurney's and two patients go missing from the hospital." I looked to Gerard, hope starting bubbling up and I could feel my muscles start to tense up in anticipation. 

"Who were those people?" Gerard squeaked out, leaning forwards to try and get a good look at the record book. 

"I'm sorry, what does this have to do with your research?" Gee balked immediately, shrinking away from the desk. We didn't want anyone getting too suspicious of what we were doing. 

"Nothing, nevermind. Thanks for your help." Gerard muttered before quickly turning and heading for the door. 

"Gerard…" 

"I know. Frank, go back and take a look at the record book. I'll wait in the car. See if there's family listed or anything, anyway we could contact them." I nodded and left Gerard's side, heading back towards the desk. One of the patients in the lobby looked up as I passed and their dull blue eyes lit up, following me as I walked past. I stopped briefly to look back at the person and their hand was over their open mouth. I just smiled and turned, heading for the desk again. I walked through the desk and stopped midway, my legs cut off just below my ass. I looked down at the record book and scanned the page for the people who'd gone missing. 

"What are you doing?" I glanced up and looked at a doctor that was standing in front of me, but shrugged and kept looking, thinking he was talking to the receptionist…nurse…person behind me. "Hey, kid I'm talking to you!" I looked back up and realized he was looking right at me. 

"Uh…hi?" 

"What are you doing with the records?" He snapped and I realized I could see the wall faintly through him. He was dead, like me. 

"Looking for the names of the two missing people last year." I leant back over and scrolled further down the list of patients. 

"Why do you want to know that? Did you know them?" 

"No, but I might know what happened to them. Sorry, don't have time to explain though." My finger kept sliding down the page till it touched a name I was slightly familiar with. Where had I heard that name before? I looked over and saw that he was one of the missing persons as well as the name listed below him. They went missing the same day. 

"Both of those patients died here in the hospital, but their bodies went missing from the coroner's office before they were buried." The ghostly doctor spoke up and I stood up straight to look at him. 

"The coroner's office? Which one?" 

"The only one in the area and its right here in the hospital. Down in the basement." 

"A coroner would have medical training wouldn't he?" 

"Well yeah of course, they have to know all the medications and the body from head to toe. Why?" The doctor started to become increasingly fuzzy and I realized that he must not have passed long ago and was popping back to where he died. 

"No reason. Thank you!" I turned and ran out of the room, keeping the two names in mind. Gerard was sitting in his car and I just phased right through the door in my rush. "GERARD!" He jumped, his head hitting the roof of his car. 

"FRANK! DAMNIT!" He clutched the top of his head and groaned in pain, lightly massaging the spot. 

"The coroner's office! The two people went missing from the coroner's office after they died. A coroner would have all sorts of medical training and could very easily hook up an IV and keep a patient under." Gerard's eyes flew wide in realization. 

"So we're looking for a coroner." He mumbled and started to whip out his phone to search for one in the area. 

"Don't bother, the only one in the area is right here in this hospital. We have to make sure though, I think I recognize the names but I just need to check. Drive to the cemetery." 

"You think you've seen them there?" Gee spoke as he turned the car on and sped out of the hospital parking lot. 

"Positive, but we might need to do some digging." Gerard groaned and I felt a little bit sad that he'd have to do all the work again, but its not like I could really help or ask anyone to help him.

We arrived at the graveyard fifteen minutes later and I went tearing through the fence, running towards the back. Gerard was not too far behind when I stopped in front of two headstones. They were side by side and all that was carved into the stones were their names. Ray Toro and Bob Bryar.


	22. Chapter 22

[Gerard's P.O.V.]  
"Is there any way we could avoid digging?" I groaned, having retrieved the shovel we used last time from the trunk of my car. There was still dirt clung to it from last time too. 

"Unless they miraculously appear I don't think-" Frank's setence was cut short and I looked up just as his eyes rolled back and he started to fall forwards, and being forgetful as I was, I tried to catch him, but of course he phased right through my hands and smacked into the ground. 

"Frank?!" 

[Mikey's P.O.V.]

"PLEASE! PLEASE STOP!" I screamed out, my body trembling in both fear and pain. The man was hovered over me, his fists clenched and a thick rope grasped in them. He took another step forward and I shrieked again. He looked like an animal, a mangy animal at that. "P-PLEASE!" I cried, turning my head as he stepped forward yet again, afraid to receive another blow to the face, knowing my lower jaw was already cracked. 

"'PLEASE! PLEASE!' IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY!?" He barked, reaching down in a flash and grabbing my already black and blue arm, yanking me hard enough that I just slammed into the wall again, slipping back down on to my knees because my feet hurt from being lashed. I turned right as he came at me and managed to scurry out of the way just as his fist collided with the wall, eliciting a snarl from him. I made it half way across the room before he grabbed me again, preparing to wrap that bloodied rope around my throat again. 

DING! DONG! The man froze and looked up, hearing the distinct sound of the doorbell. His gaze turned down, catching mine before he growled and punched me in the gut before quickly exiting the room. I crawled across the floor as the lights went off in the room and hid under Frank's gurney, like I had been doing for the past few days. I reached up with a tentative hand, fingertips meeting the icy flesh of Frank's hand, I slid my hand up a little further on his arm, groping in the dark for the IV sticking into it. When my fingers touched the cold plastic I crawled out from under the gurney, keeping my fingers on the IV. I'd memorized the way it was stuck in his arm, having tried numerous times to pull it out and get him to wake up, only to have the man come in and notice it, quickly putting it back in and then proceeding to beat me as punishment. I pulled the IV out and pushed his arm back under the sheet, gripping the needle in my hand I crawled back under his gurney and waited for him to wake up or the man to come back. 

"Ugh…the hell?" The gurney creaked with movement and my eyes flew wide, recognizing the voice. I scrambled out from under the gurney and looked at its occupant. He was sitting upright, rubbing his eyes as they were probably trying to adjust quickly to the darkness of the room. "Gerard?" He spoke out. "What the hell happened?" 

"Frank! It's me, its Mikey!" I grabbed his arm and he jumped, I could feel how thin his body was, how it felt like his arm would just snap in my grasp if I squeezed just a little bit. 

"Mikey?" He paused for a minute and I suddenly felt his hand wrap around my arm and I was yanked forwards, feeling his arms slide around my back. "MIKEY!" I heard light sobs as his chin hooked over my shoulder in the dark, I smiled wrapping my arms around him and holding him tightly, like he was my last lifeline…cause right now, he quite literally was. "Mikey…you're still alive…" My eyes widened a bit, but I guess it was right for him to think I was dead...I almost had been a few times. 

"Not for long though Frank…y-you have to help me! I can't get out of here by myself but everyone here is too weak to help, including myself…he's got f-friends, I think…I could hear them all laughing about his prisoners the other night." Frank looked down at his hand, frowning at how painfully thin he was, his bones sticking out in many places. The IV provided nourishment enough to keep them alive…nothing else. I watched a tear slip down his cheek as he clenched his fist, weakly I might add. 

"I have to get Gerard don't I…" He looked up at me and I thought it was a simple answer, of course he had to get Gerard but then I realized what he was saying. He was alive, he was back in his own body…able to touch and feel and be seen, able to talk to me. He had to give that up again if he was going to get Gee. 

"Frank…I promise you I'll make sure you're safe on this end, I promise that you'll come back. We need him though, if we're ever going to get out of here we need Gerard to get help." A loud bang emanated from the other room, causing both Frank and I to jump. The squeaking of wheels was heard next and the hidden door was suddenly flung open. A gurney was being rolled into the room and the guy was smirking but then he froze when he saw Frank standing beside me. The evilest look I had ever seen spread across the man's face and we barely had any time to move before be was barreling at us. I heard a groan and a smack, looking over to where Frank was just to see him out cold on the ground. The man turned to me next and I knew better than to move now, I knew better than to fight back, so I curled up on myself and waited for the blow that was to come and it did. I blacked out. 

[Gerard's P.O.V.]

I sat in the grass beside the graves. Frank's body had disappeared seconds after slamming into the ground and now I had no clue what to do, where he was, and if he was alright. I sighed and moved to get up when I saw something forming on the grass again, slowly becoming more visible until I recognized it as Frank. His body reformed and I rushed over to him, kneeling in the grass beside him. He lay there limp for a second before bolting upright, scaring me so badly I fell backwards on the grass. 

"AGH!" He screamed out and I sat up, watching him clutch his head as if he was in pain. 

"FRANK!" Crawling over to him I noticed fresh blood start squishing through his fingers. "FRANK! WHAT HAPPENED!?" 

"M-Mikey…I…AGH!" I wanted to wrap my arms around him, hug him tight and soothe the pain that my best friend was enduring, but I couldn't and that pained me more than anything else. We sat there in the dirt for a while, until Frank's whimpers died down and he finally moved his hands from his head, revealing an ugly gash in his forehead. "Gerard…Mikey's alive…he's okay but we-" 

"Gerard? Frank?" The voice caught me by surprise, my heart started pounding frantically as I turned my head to face its owner, my eyes widening at the sight. 

"Mikey…"


End file.
